Jaguar Batter
by slexenskee
Summary: Even though it had been a one-night stand on a mission thousands of miles from home, the idea of having the elf prince's child was not nearly as repulsive as the idea of once more coming back and telling him about it.
1. yet? why not?

_Naruto? I'm kind of back into it! Kind of, not really. Yipes. I am also desperately into LOTR. This is what happens when the two explode in my brain._

_

* * *

_

Sakura should have known that her tendency to appraise the pretty boy's of the world would not just end with Uchiha Sasuke. The man _defined _the term pretty boy swag. Honestly.

It was her weakness, and she would admit it without question. Of course, if it was, say, Ino who pointed it out, she would vehemently deny it. Kakashi seemed to have already figured this out as he had once casually commented on Neji's swaying hair after enduring a full hour of Sakura staring wistfully at it. After deep contemplation, and a twenty-four hour lengthy discussion with her inner-self under a waterfall (it was for a mission, honest) Sakura came to the conclusion that she'd simply have to gouge her eyes out, or turn lesbian to get over this irrational desire for men with perfect features.

Legolas was really no exception.

Aside from the fact that he lived in an entirely different continent, one which the five great shinobi nations had no real interest/knowledge about, Sakura assumed that her pretty boy affliction would not rear its ugly, hormonal head in Middle Earth.

Then she met the elves.

Oh. _How she was wrong._

The elves went above and beyond pretty to downright beautiful, with their ethereal features, smooth complexions and wide jewel-like yes. How could Sakura say no to that?

Of course, she hadn't really expected to _sleep _with one of them, or, for that matter, for her birth control to spontaneously combust the day prior.

Not that it really mattered anymore. Legolas was officially thousands of miles away, lived on an entirely different continent, had no idea who she worked for/what she did/_who she was in general_ to be any wiser about it, and Sakura could find herself a blonde boyfriend (Naruto, anyone?) in a decent amount of time, get hitched, and pretend the baby was his. Her plan was, as atypical for bookworm and renowned hard working genius Haruno Sakura, a specimen of beautiful perfection.

She was safe in Konoha, was pretty well off, considering how much she made in her profession of killing people, had a steady job at the hospital which wouldn't require as much strenuous activities as missions did, and had accumulated so many vacation days that she could take maternity leave and have three years off to jet around the continents. She had heard Kiri had some really nice beaches…

So now it was all a matter of biding her time, preparing for the right time to announce it to the world, eating disturbing mixes of foods she usually despised, and well, enjoying life.

_NOT._

_._

_._

Sakura had assumed that being pregnant by an elf—oh god, if Ino knew… no, scratch that, if _anyone _knew, she'd never hear the end of it. Sakura could fully imagine Naruto's jeers at being knocked up by a magical fairy-like creature. Sakura would swear up and down that elves were _of no relation to fairies, _but really, would Naruto care? Or stop? No.—would make her slow and drowsy, or extremely tired, or whatever else pregnant people usually experienced.

Instead, she had boundless energy, and while her equilibrium was a bit thrown for a loop, her active body was already starting to re-balance herself accordingly, and she found that sparring was a regular activity to partake in.

Anyway, it wasn't like pregnant kunoichi were _useless _kunoichi. Being pregnant was known to double or even triple chakra reserves in active ninja, and it wasn't any surprise that Kurenai still kicked major ass, even while five months pregnant. Of course, by four or five months kunoichi are encouraged to leave the active duty roster, as getting punched in the gut was kind of detrimental to a baby's health.

This was why, come a bright sunny morning in late October, Ino and Sakura were duking it out on one of the training fields.

Ino was the perfect opponent, as she used her speed and agility to her advantage rather then massive punches, and opted for relentless, light-weight (well, considering what Sakura's rendition of power meant) punches in quick succession rather then powerful ones.

They were the perfect opposites, and Ino's quick taps weren't of any danger to the baby. (Not like Ino could possibly break the chakra wall Sakura was feeding around her stomach, anyway…)

Yet somehow, even with Sakura on full guard, Ino was able to land a hit while Sakura's balance was overthrown.

The blonde blinked, before tossing her hair. "What's up with you, forehead?"

"What're you talking about?" Sakura groaned, picking herself up from the ground. The kick was solid and connected rather well to her thigh.

"You're balance has been off all day." Ino frowned, and then paused. "Y'know, it's been like this for a while…"

The flower-haired girl paled on instinct, and wiped off dust from her legs. "You're imagining things." She scoffed.

"Am not!" Ino protested hotly. "Remember last week? I bashed a good one on your head." The blonde looked triumphant. "That was a good hit."

"Not like you get very many of those." Sakura countered back, before stretching out her sore muscles.

"I'm being serious!" Said Ino. "You've been different, is all I'm trying to say. Ever since you got back from that one mission."

Ah, yes.

_That one mission. _Sakura had been complaining about the emptiness of her bank account, and Tsunade was mulling about which Jounin she should send off to a foreign mission, which would require a lot of background knowledge, but would pay well. The usual subjects of her S-class missions that were reserved for the young and reckless, Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba, were all incapacitated.

Naruto, while powerful and well versed in Ninjutsu, was weak in academics and didn't have the patience nor capability to learn all the customs needed for a partially diplomatic mission. Neji, while perfect for the job in all aspects, had clan politics to worry about and was held up with prior foreign engagements with Cloud. Shikamaru, maybe not so good on the active part, but perfect for the academic, had no interest in long missions. And Kiba, well, Kiba smelt like wet dog, was generally a vindictive ass to everyone, and currently was batting off a bad case of the flu.

Which left Sakura, Tsunade's bemoaning and broke apprentice to the job.

There was much to learn about Middle Earth, mainly they're strange language syntax even stranger customs and downright bizarre creatures, but Sakura didn't mind. She'd been wanting time away from Konoha in its oppressive, Indian summer heat, and was in major need of quick cash.

And anyway, who cared if she had to suck up to people she didn't know? And kill more people she didn't know? They wouldn't know anything important about her, anyway. It was a recon mission.

So off she went, slaying some strange, ugly, black-blooded beings called Orcs under King Thranduil of the elves which were coming up from Dol Guldur. They succeeded in holding off the creatures from taking over the rest of Mirkwood, however the Evil army of the Lord Sauron still remained in Dol Guldur.

Either way, Sakura came home paid and happy (and pregnant, but no one knew that) Tsunade was satisfied with the treaty she had ensnared with one of the King's from across the sea, and said king was equally pleased at snagging an alliance with a country of greatly powerful warriors.

End of story.

Or so she thought.

"What one mission?" Sakura feigned ignorance. "The one to Grass with Lee?" Mentally, she shivered with the thought. Two weeks of green spandex and a lot of push ups..

"No! The one where you made _bank_." Ino corrected. "Don't tell me you don't remember."

Sakura blinked.

"I don't remember." She shrugged.

"Liar!" Ino shrieked, before tackling her to the ground.

Sakura rolled her off and delivered a firm knee to the stomach, which Ino flinched to and retaliated with a punch to the gut of her own. She was met with what could have been a dried wall of concrete over Sakura's abdomen.

"Owwww—_fuck_!" Ino shook her hand out. "What'd you do, paint pavement over your stomach?"

Sakura stuck her tongue out.

Above them, a hawk circled once, twice, before eventually the two looked up.

The bird dropped a scroll into Sakura's waiting hands, the Hokage seal placed on its ending folds, before flying off with the rising air.

Ino harrumphed noisily. "Why do _you _get all these missions?" She cried in outrage. "You're already totally loaded." And then, with anger and charisma, "And I'm so much prettier!"

"Looks have nothing to do with missions." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Naruto's ANBU team is most likely going somewhere, and Tsunade probably just wants a medic and also someone to keep him in check."

Naruto-guarding was sort of like a profession, or at least, a minor art. The guy could definitely go over the top sometimes.

So Sakura waved Ino off, and was about to head to the tower when her stomach protested with such a loud groan that Sakura swore it was sentient. She stopped by Ichiraku really, _really_ quickly, figuring Naruto was most likely skipping the mission review to grab some ramen anyway, and ordered some Miso chicken. Her blonde friend was nowhere in sight, but her stomach was immensely satisfied.

Tsunade, however, was not.

"You're late." The blonde woman frowned. After a sheepish beat of silence, she narrowed her eyes. "Kakashi isn't rubbing off on you, is he?"

"Will I get him in trouble if I say yes?" She answered cheekily.

Tsunade only scoffed, before tossing more scrolls at them.

By "them", Sakura meant, Naruto and Neji. Both of which were fellow ANBU, so Sakura assumed that this was going to be a typical A-rank black-ops mission. Except that ANBU teams were usually squads of four or five, and there were only three of them…

"Is anyone else coming?" Sakura asked.

"No." Tsunade answered, but didn't elaborate.

Sakura frowned, but fingered the scroll, not looking quite yet as Tsunade looked as if she would speak.

"I've gotten a rather intriguing request, one which I'm going to assume that all of you would love to have, seeing as though the pay is, well," Tsuande started chuckling. "Let's just say foreign currency and inflation is paying off."

Neji was most likely the only one aside from the Hokage to understand the joke, but he looked like he was in no mood for a chuckle, and Naruto and Sakura were just plain lost, so Tsunade's laughter died off.

"Anyway, I've recently snagged a nice treaty with some foreign relations who could be useful at some point in the near future, and I'm in no position to deny anything from them in such a delicate stage of the process." Tsunade waved off Naruto's questioning glance. "You're probably wondering why there's only three. Well, considering the kind of mission this is, I don't think sending out so many of my best will merit the cause."

She glanced at them all sternly, and, as if reading Sakura's head, began again. "I picked you all for a reason. _Not _just because I think you're young and stupid and the only one's who would take such a case."

"Naruto, as I'm sure you're aware, you're subtleties are lacking and you're too brash for your own good, but you're honest and trustworthy and I think our client will appreciate that about you."

"Neji, you're debating skills are excellent and you're one of the best diplomats I've got. It doesn't hinder you that you're well versed in clan-Jutsu and you're Byakugan will be useful."

"And Sakura," And quite honestly, Sakura thought Tsunade would just go right by her. Naruto was, well, Naruto. He was smart and strong and brave and a fucking powerhouse and everyone in the Five Great Nations knew not to mess with him, and Neji was the renowned genius of the Konoha twelve (eleven, technically) and had been gaining a reputation ever since his initiation into ANBU. Sakura was just kind of, well, a decent medic, a good friend of Naruto's, and while she worked with the black-ops as a medic, wasn't considered one. "You're skills and knowledge will be imperative for this mission to succeed."

Sakura blinked.

She hadn't been expecting that.

"So, what is it, Tsunade-baa-chan?" Naruto wedged a finger in his ear unceremoniously. "What's with all the beating around the bush?"

Naruto was most likely unaccustomed to an actual mission briefing, as more then likely Tsunade slammed the scroll in his head before pushing him out the window.

"This is important, you dumb ass." She sniped back. " Konoha's relations with Middle Earth depend on the three of you."

Sakura felt her stomach drop.

"Wait—hold on." She interrupted. "Middle Earth? Tsunade, I thought—

"As you should know, Sakura." Tsunade cut her off with a vicious glare, and, cowed, Sakura silenced. "King Thranduil was immensely pleased with you're skills as a warrior, you're pleasant attitude and you're professional demeanor. He has recommended us to a man by the name of Gandalf the Grey, someone of great importance in the social circles of Middle Earth, and it would be detrimental to our alliance if I declined the man's offer."

"He's in need of another travelling companion—for what, he wouldn't say. Only that it was of dire importance for this trip to be seen without incident—for a specified time which could be anywhere from seven months to a year."

Tsunade skewered Sakura with a glare. "That person will be you, Sakura. The King was so taken back by you're abilities that he recommended you specifically."

Sakura's face lost her pallor, and she could feel her hands begin to clam up.

As if sensing her distress, Tsunade added. "I'm aware it's a long time, I'm also aware that Middle Earth is much like a cultural shock, and that you'll need backup. Naruto will be forseeing you, he'll be sent out approximately two months after you. Neji will journey with you, however, he'll be stationed as your intel force and as an advisor in the city of Minas Tirith, in Gondor."

Sakura had head of Gondor, and Minas Tirith, it's shining stone city. She was also aware that it was quite far from Mirkwood, the only realm she'd experienced in Middle Earth.

"So where _is _Middle Earth?" Asked Naruto, rather perplexed. "And _what _is it?"

"Middle Earth is across the sea." Sakura answered, dazedly. "It's about two weeks travel by boat. It's another continent."

Tsunade nodded.

"Given the nature of the mission, the pay is tripled."

Naruto wooped, Sakura stared numbly, and Neji looked typically impassive.

"I expect the two of you to be ready by tomorrow morning."

.

.

Culture shock was an understatement.

Sakura spent most of the trip trying to explain to Neji everything she remembered. The Hyuuga was, at first, skeptical over the whole Elves, humans, dwarves thing, but after much continuation by Sakura on her monologue of Middle Earth, he grew accustomed to it. Sakura assumed that her babble was so immersive because the moment they stepped off, Neji seemed completely unfazed. Of course, they hadn't actually _met _anything yet, but the sky was different, more watery, and the trees had a different feel then the dense, thick ones of Konoha.

The dialect frightened him a bit, as people talked different, said different words, and rearranged their sentences in ways that obviously confused him, but mostly, he was pretty well off.

Sakura remembered the shire, and the tiny beings which lived there, but didn't bother to take Neji on the real tour. She explained it was quite a bit like Konoha, the peaceful citizens protected by the rangers which prowled it's borders. The two carried on to Bree, where they stayed at the Prancing Pony.

Gandalf had informed Tsunade that Sakura should meet him in Rivendell, the realm of the elves. Neji, meanwhile, would be continuing onwards to Gondor, weathering the terrain and hostile creatures alone.

Though really, Sakura wasn't worried in the slightest.

Neji was smart, and more importantly, a ninja, something which the lumbering, mostly stupid orcs and prowling creatures wouldn't understand. Sakura advised him to keep to the trees, travelling on this side of the misty mountains, as the plains of Rohan would have little cover, and Neji's Byakugan would be of better use when he had the upper-hand against all other creatures of Middle Earth, who just couldn't see through corporeal objects like he could.

The two settled down into the rather comfy beds, Sakura polishing her blades while Neji gazed thoughtfully out of the window.

His Byakugan was on, and he seemed to be scanning the horizon.

"Their culture is very different from ours." He observed, as a man shepherded his wife into the house, yelling about how she shouldn't stray too far in such dangerous times. "They are soft."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Civilians are soft."

"Civilians are aware of the dangers of the world." Neji retorted loftily. "These folk… they claim there are dangers, yet have no real understanding of them. It is… strange."

"It's just the way they are." Maybe Sakura was just a teensy bit more open-minded, considering she had slept with one of the folk of Middle Earth…

At the thought, Sakura wrenched herself away from her sword, feeling a bit ill. It wasn't morning sickness—as kunoichi had developed medicine to successfully curb most of the illness—but it certainly was somewhere along those lines. She should have said something to Tsunade. She spent most of the way here arguing to herself whether she should turn back.

But no, Tsunade… _Konoha_ needed her to do this. King Thranduil had told Gandalf about her. And in turn, Gandalf had requested her, specifically, and she'd make an ass out of her and her country if she ignored his summons. The trip would most likely be dangerous, and Sakura only hoped it would be over before the activity became too much for her. And what was Neji going to do? Who would teach him? Surely, he could figure it out for himself… the guy wasn't a genius for nothing, but Middle Earth was a _whole other world_. Neji couldn't be assumed to be able to keep up without a guide. And Naruto… what would Naruto say if he knew?

Sure, Sakura could joke about it all the time back in Konoha, safe, warm, happy, surrounded by all her belongings, healthcare, groceries…

But if Naruto found out how stupidly she'd endangered herself and this kid who most likely still looked like a lizard-worm, he'd drag her back, surely.

Sakura had been too lost in her thoughts to notice Neji's eyes straying to her.

Not like being aware of it would change the fact that the Byakugan would be able to see exactly what she was attempting to hide.

"Sakura," He breathed, her name a sharp intake of his breath.

She flinched away.

"Uh—Neji… I…" Honestly, how did she expect to hide it from him, again?

"You're pregnant." He said, flatly.

A guilty look passed her features.

With his impeccably eyes, he caught it. "You knew?" He asked, rage there, but hidden by his usually low tenor.

"I—" She gulped. Oh hell. She was a medic-nin for god's sake, of course she knew the risks she was taking. "The mission is important." She protested.

"_Lives_ are important." Neji stressed. "Yours, and that kid's. Did you expect to be able to get away with it?" And then, after a beat of miserable silence. "What do you think Naruto will say to this?"

"Naruto won't say anything." She stood then, to her imposing height of five four, in contrast to his six three.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "He'll be told." His voice was dark and deep. "So will Tsunade. You're going back to Konoha—this is no place for a pregnant kunoichi and you're fully aware of it—

"I'm also fully aware that me going home would be a slap to Middle Earth's face!" She retaliated. "Tsunade's counting on us to fortify relations with these people. You might not think its anything _important_, but just think of another Nation allying with a force of thousands of people, who already are insulted by us? What if Otogakure, or Iwagakure even, found out about this place? They'd be sending diplomats and kissing ass and these people would suck it all in and we'd get stuck with the brunt of their army."

She frowned, pretending her eyes weren't burning. "You of all people should know how important foreign relations are." She whispered dangerously.

She imagined how it would look, if someone had seen the two of them. Dangerous killers, eying each other up wearily in deathly silence. Sakura's hand lilting on the edge of her sword, Neji towering over her. She told herself that her eyes were shining because she was nervous, afraid, and knew that this alliance would mean a lot to Konoha, and the brunt of it resided on her.

But Sakura knew it was mostly because she knew that, if she failed, she'd be putting up two lives for forfeit.


	2. back in TYO

_muahahahahahahaha..

* * *

_

Neji backed down, and while he stewed tenebrously at the edge of the room, said nothing about the matter until the following morning.

At this point, he warned, rather ferociously, that he would be keeping close tabs on her, and his mouth would stay shut as long as her health stayed clean. If he thought that she was in any sort of danger, he'd send word immediately to Tsunade. Sakura protested this greatly, but Neji insisted that it was up to his judgment.

In the end, he and Sakura angrily split ways at Weathertop Hill, at the abandoned watch tower. Sakura had found signs of some sort of struggle, and while she was a mediocre tracker at best—Team Kurenai had always been bred for that—the signs were clear.

Neji forewarned her to expect his eyes to be everywhere, and Sakura waved him off.

She had dressed herself appropriately as a ninja, but as time went on, and she followed the messy trail of what seemed to be five or so travelers, three weak, one incapacitated, she wondered if perhaps Rivendell—which she knew to be a realm of elves—would accept her as readily as Mirkwood had.

Her hair was suffering from her lopsided schedule, as she hadn't the time to cut it in the past couple months. Her life prior to _that one mission _was hectic, and she assumed that it had been at least half a year since it's last trim. The pink edges curled around her collar bone, and Sakura became so vexed by the long hair—as she hadn't worn it since she was a stumbling, useless Gennin—that she had taken to putting it into a ponytail, hitai-ate pushed up like a headband.

Her katana and Wakizashi were strapped to the back of her belt, where the blades crossed like a lopsided X. The katana was long and thin and stuck out, while the Wakizashi was short enough to be hidden. It was cold, and even with a cloak Sakura had donned shinobi cargo pants, equipped with a ridiculous amount of pouches, which were baggy on her hips and required a couple belts to keep them in place. They were rolled a bit half way to her shins, and she had on the closed-toe ninja sandals which she had used in Snow Country.

There was nothing she could do about the ANBU armor, however, as it exposed her midriff to the cold, and she hadn't brought much else besides the black-ops undervest turtleneck to keep her warm.

Lucky for Sakura, her lean body would most likely mean her pregnancy bump would be minimal at best, and her stomach was smooth and dreadfully normal, and didn't slow her down in the slightest.

She was able to make the trip to Rivendell in less then four days, and arrived at the glittering river which had been foretold in the directions.

The realm was supposed to be hidden, so Sakura stood on the water, mostly impatient, waiting for her guide.

Eventually, a beautiful elf maiden made her way down to the riverbank on horseback, another of the animal trailing without a rider behind her. The elf looked so surprised to see Sakura, idly sloshing water with her toes, standing on the glossy surface, that she nearly fumbled in her steps.

Sakura was a bit taken aback by her beauty, as it had been quite a while since her last encounter with the near angelic species of elves. And even then, the beautiful creatures of Mirkwood in her hazy memories didn't seem to be nearly as beguiling as the one in front of her.

"I am Arwen." She bowed, and Sakura supposed someone had told her that it was customary in Sakura's culture to do so. "Daughter of Lord Elrond of Rivendell." She smiled, and it was thin and wan, but Sakura thought it suited the she-elf well. "I am here to escort you into Imaldris."

Sakura bowed back. "I am Haruno Sakura of Konohagakure." She returned, politely. "I am thankful for your service."

Arwen gave her the fine, white horse, and Sakura blanched. She had completely forgotten the subject of horses, and the strange subject of introductory etiquette to Neji entirely. Sakura could only count on Neji's quick wit and agile ability to assimilate culture as she hopped on the animal.

It wasn't like she'd never seen a horse before… she was sure there were a couple that plowed fields in Rice country (or were those water buffalo?) but riding them was mostly useless for shinobi, as their chakra-enhanced speed was a faster form of travel and without the upkeep. And anyway, Neji seemed like the kind of guy who was good with animals.

Rivendell, much like the splendid grandeur of the halls of Mirkwood, was breathtaking. The large expanse of well-crafted, open walkways, pillars and courtyards, and of course, the serenity of the waterfall backdrop made Sakura dazzle wordlessly up into the watery gray sky. Elves sure knew how to spoil themselves.

The red ocher of the trees reminded her of Konoha, and for a moment she gazed wistfully as they passed by a blotch of orange and reds while crossing the bridge into Rivendell, hit with a capricious nostalgia for home. It was ripped away, as a crazy looking old man walked up to them.

"Greetings!" He said, and Sakura was struck by the vision of a drunk Sarutobi of her youth.

The two held the same air of jovial wisdom.

He wore a grand looking grey hat, which brimmed around his bristling brows and long beard and hair. He held a staff, which seemed to be to help him in his old age, but Sakura knew from his straight gait that it wasn't use for such purposes.

"Hello." She hopped off the horse, bowing low. "I am Haruno Sakura of Konohagakure." She repeated herself from earlier. "You must be Gandalf the Grey."

"Indeed I am!" He said, rather mirthfully. "Ah, you are just as King Thranduil recalled. Very polite." He nodded his head, as if he approved. Figures approached them, and Gandalf turned his head at their descent down the stairs.

"Ah!" Sakura almost jumped at his loud change in conversational direction. "This is the Lord Elrond of Imaldris, or Rivendell, in the Common Tongue. Lord Erestor, the Chief of Council of Rivendell. Glorfindel of the Council of Rivendell, and Strider, Ranger of the North."

All four bowed as was custom as a meeting in the five nations, before eventually, Sakura supposed that there was no need for such formalities.

"If I may ask," She began lightly, and she noticed that the newly introduced men seemed to be surprised at the high tenor of her voice. "But, in regards to you're mission statement and the nature of my task—

"Please, my lady." Gandalf cut her off with a wave of her hand. "The nature of your task shall be explained in a Council, which shall be held in a few days time." He smiled then. "Could I ask of you to wait until then for our discussion? I feel it would be more beneficial that way."

Sakura blinked, before nodding slowly. "Of course." She answered seamlessly.

Lady Arwen came up from behind her, as she had placed their horses back into the stables.

The three elves, wizard, and man made a move to leave, beckoning her to follow them up the marble steps. Arwen fell into step with her, whispering quietly. "In Imaldris, it is considered rude to leave one's features hidden in the light of the peaceful realm."

"Oh…" Sakura blushed, and pulled her hood off.

Arwen seemed even more surprised by the color of her hair then her ability to walk on water. However, she voiced no opinion of this, trailing diligently behind her father and his companions. Gandalf seemed to be commenting on the wondrous weather, and engaging them all in small talk. While the elves carried on with this, the Ranger, who, while not cloaked effectively hid himself behind a mask of indifference, glanced at her suspiciously every few moments.

"My dear, if you would walk with me for a moment?"

They must have come to some sort of crossways, as the man had already disappeared, and Arwen had moved forward to follow her father and his escorts to the right, while Gandalf motioned the left.

"It would be my pleasure." Sakura responded humbly, matching his step.

"King Thranduil mentioned little of your homeland." Gandalf began. "He said very little else aside from the skills of your people. And on the subject of this, he says that you told him only the vague notion that you're country is made from warriors of every people, man and woman, adult and child?"

Sakura remembered saying something like that. Tsunade had implored secrecy on her, as the Five Shinobi Nations, and the Ninja Continent in general have always kept mostly to themselves. And at any rate, the secrets of the ninja people were considered to be privy only to those involved, and at that time, Middle Earth was nothing but a foreign, potential client.

Even now, Sakura supposed that she should attempt to be as vague as possible without being rude.

"We keep mostly to ourselves." Sakura agreed, and then, with a smile. "I see he has told you much of our culture."

"Ah yes," Gandalf nodded. Sakura could hear distant singing, lyrical and soft, and she remembered quite suddenly that elves enjoyed the hobby. In fact, she daresay it was much more then just a simple hobby to them. "He said that, to every new person you met, you gave them a rather satisfactory bow. He said many other things about your strange behavior, but I can't seem to recall them."

Sakura smiled secretly.

"At any rate, I'm sure that you're secrets are your own," He smiled, eyes twinkling. "And I'm most pleased to see your arrival. I was beginning to think that my pleas went unnoticed."

"Not at all." Sakura assured. "Konohagakure received you're missive, but the journey to Middle Earth, as well as the preparation on the part of my Hokage took longer then we would have thought."

"Well, it hardly does one much to think and regret on the past." Said Gandalf wisely. "And I believe we've come to your room! The handmaidens have prepared it for you, and I hope it is to your liking. However, I cannot stay for long, as Lord Elrond has requested my presence in his study."

"I see." Sakura grinned. "I guess I'll see you very soon, then?"

"I would think so." Gandalf chuckled, before taking his leave.

Sakura's room had a view of the long drop beneath her, and was quite spacious and lovely. Everything was made in shades of white and silver, and her bleak ninja garb and attire seemed to stick out sorely in the luxurious white marble tiles and dappling sunlight.

Sakura decided that, after this mission, and after she received her nice, fat payment, she'd buy a nice penthouse on one of the new highrises in Konoha with white marble flooring and posh furniture, and raise her kid to be like an elf. It was easy to joke about it now, she supposed, but just like when she arrived, her wistful dreams would crash into reality.

But for now, she entertained the thought as she counted the sealing scrolls she had brought.

Naruto made most of them for her, as he was quickly becoming a genius fuinjutsu master. He had made one that stored rations that could last for months, and another that held all her extra weapons. She hadn't packed light, that was for sure. She had loaded herself with shuriken and kunai, medical scrolls, extra clothing, bandages, not to mention hygienic female care. She didn't know what the elves used to get their luscious hair, but she knew she'd be taking home some of that too.

By the time she exited her room, the darkness was creeping into the valley, and the sun was nothing but a blazing red fire that lined the tops of the mountains.

Sakura had clearly forgotten how beautiful Middle Earth could be, as she stood for a long while, in one of the open rooms of Rivendell, gazing out into the beginnings of the fading stars. Rivendell really was a perfect, peaceful place. Sakura wondered where her journey would take her, where in this lovely world she would find herself. She loved Konoha, loved the bright flowers on kimono, the sash of a beautiful obi, ornaments in her hair, and the shrines that sat in the mists of the mountains. But she loved the regal banisters that lined Rivendell, a Middle Earth sunrise, the smell of deep, cresting mountains.

"Tis quite a beautiful night, don't you agree?"

Sakura was not startled by the voice, but she was surprised that the figure chose now to speak.

Strider, as he was introduced as, was leaning on one of the stone benches below her, flipping through a book in he dim lighting. He looked at ease, and seemed to have been aware of her presence as well. He was either gifted with sight, or some sort of trained warrior.

Sakura looked down at him, where he sat in the open, some feet below her, the floor he was on jutting out in front of her.

She jumped the railing, landing gracefully and soundlessly in the darkness.

"There are a lot of stars here." She commented, not sure what else to say.

The man looked up, pointing to a bright one, which unwaveringly twinkled above them. "That is the wanderer's star." He said. "It will always point north."

Sakura was a bit in awe as to how that same star, Polaris, as the shinobi called it, could be seen on their continent as well. It shouldn't have surprised her, but it did. How could such different cultures share the same sky?

"We call it Polaris." She agreed. "It's part of the constellation Ursa Minor."

The man seemed surprised by this.

"Haruno, correct?"

"Sakura." She corrected. And, to his startled look, elaborated, "Where I come from, our surnames come before our names. You can just call me Sakura."

"Call me Aragorn, then." The man smiled.

The two lapsed into silence once more, before Aragorn spoke again.

"What is it like in your country? King Thranduil did not mention much of it when I visited him."

Sakura smiled. "That's because I didn't tell him much. We keep to ourselves, mostly."

As if sensing his disappointment at such an elusive answer, she elaborated. "We are called shinobi, or, ninja in your language. We are warriors for hire, who only answer under the Kage. Each country has a different Kage. The Hokage, or Fire Shadow, is my leader. Where I come from, the Hokage's word is law."

Aragorn's brows furrowed. "Then you are a mercenary?"

Sakura tilted her head. She had never heard it put like that, but… "Yeah, I guess that's what we'd be called."

He blinked at her, a bit apprehensive. "But you are…

"A woman?" Sakura finished for him. He looked a bit sheepish. She smiled. "That matters very little there."

"I mean no offense by it." He backtracked quickly. "I hear many tales of your great abilities. They will aid us greatly on our quest."

"I hope so." She agreed.

The lapsed into silence, but it was broken before it could fully settle, as a man—not an elf, certainly, with that beard—stepped into the room with a certain amount of wonder to him.

Sakura stood quietly next to Aragorn, who also made no move to speak out to the strange wanderer. The man seemed caught up in the painting before him, tracing it with his fingers as if he couldn't quite believe it to be true. There was much that Sakura didn't know about Middle Earth, its vast history being one of them. It was hard enough to know her own country's, much less that of another's.

The man made his way to the stone statue, which held shards of a sword.

Sakura's attention snapped to the side, where an ethereal figure seemed to be wavering in the shadows of the room. She locked eyes with its shrouded gaze, while Aragorn held still in rapt attention the man before them.

"It's still sharp." Said the man in wonder, gazing at his pricked finger.

Sakura wanted to point out that, considering the condition of this place, it would make a lot of sense that the elves would keep the shards well tended, and it would, by default, be sharp. But that would be rather rude, considering she didn't even know who the guy was.

He left in a hurry after that, most likely noticing their presence, and the sword clattered to the ground.

Aragorn stood then, to retrieve the broken blade, and Sakura decided to take her leave.

She passed the figure, who turned out to be Lady Arwen, who in turn was walking towards Aragorn, looking quite fixated upon the man.

As Sakura left, kind of in a hurry at this point, as she felt that at any moment she'd be intruding in a private moment. As she turned the corner, she could hear Arwen's soft voice, "You are Isildur's heir…not Isildur himself…"

.

.

Come the morning, Sakura could hear the faint rustling of peculiarly large feet from the other side of her door. The knob shifted, as if being toyed with, and rattled in its socket. With a muffled yelp and what seemed to be an angered reply, the motion stopped. Feet scuffled behind her door.

Slowly, Sakura rose from the bed, footsteps silent on the marble floor. She moved effortlessly towards her bag, grabbing up a shirt to cover the mesh shirt she slept in.

The door moved again, and this time, Sakura leapt onto the ceiling.

"What's this?"

A small creature, child-like in height but certainly not in space, crept into the room. Behind him, another curly-haired creature stumbled after. Sakura crouched on the ceiling, eying them wearily.

"The warrior's not in here." Said the first of the trespassers.

The other made a groan of disappointment. "Think we scared them off?"

"Perhaps." Came the smug reply. "Many are wary of my strength, Pippin."

Pippin looked appalled. "What strength, Merry?" He guffawed and rolled his eyes, stumbling further into the room.

The boy, Pippin, peered curiously at Sakura's open bag, and the woman on the ceiling tensed, but the boy did nothing besides stare into it with no small amount of interest.

"What do you need so many knives for?" He asked in wonder.

"Killing people!" Answered Merry with a gasp. "So it's true, then! Gandalf said the man was a strong fighter, courageous and stealthy."

Pippin paused. "So a bit like Strider, then?"

"I would think so." Merry agreed. "But he's not in here."

"Perhaps he went to breakfast?" Mulled Pippin. "They should still be serving, and, quite honestly, I could go for a bit more myself."

"I agree." Said Merry. "One never can have too much food."

Sakura could have smacked a palm to her face had it not caused so much noise. These two were bumbling fools. She liked them mostly to Konohamaru and his ragtag group of Academy kids—well, Gennin now—and they're inability to be quiet, stealthy, or conniving.

After the two had left, Sakura flipped off the ceiling, landing with more force then necessary and shaking the room with the impact.

She stared at the soles of her feet in vague wonder, surprised by the great exertion of chakra. It hardly seemed like she was even channeling any of it…

Maybe this was what Naruto felt like?

If so, she could understand completely how he was useless at making Bunshin.

A maid came in moments later—even the servants were ridiculously attractive, go figure—and laid out a constricting, lacy dress for her to wear. She was vaguely reminded of Arwen's dress the day prior, and groaned aloud. Sakura hadn't worn a dress, or anything that even likened to a dress since she was thirteen years old and had successfully grown out of her red one. Perhaps one or two at a wedding, but she preferred for more flexible cloth or at least an outfit that made the bruises all over her legs look cool and well-earned.

The maid stayed long enough to tightly wrap the strings around Sakura's torso, making her choke and gag at some points, before eventually she tied the loose bow in the back, gave Sakura directions to the dining hall, and was on her way. Mostly, Sakura was uncomfortable and stiff, but she was able to conveniently stash a few thigh straps hidden in the folds of her long dress.

Sakura doubted that Rivendell would even need such precaution, but hey, she wasn't a freaking ninja for nothing.

She walked/waddled over to the dining hall, grunting in pain, and was able to sit herself down with a ridiculous amount of effort between two hobbits.

One was slightly pudgy, the other she recalled from earlier when he tried to invade her room.

"Bet he can kill things with his eyes—and has fangs like, like a warg or somethin'." Said Pippin excitedly.

The hobbit who she would learn to be known as Sam swallowed his mouthful. "That sounds like an Old Wives' tale, Pip."

"Don't listen to him." Said Merry, who sat down moments after across from Sakura. "He's been making up stories all day."

"But they're true!" Pippin insisted. "Gandalf told me a few he heard from King Thranduil's men. Said the guy could punch the ground and make holes all the way to hell!" And then, for added measure, "Bit frightenin', don't you think?"

"I think it's a load of horseswath." Said Sam. He continued to eat an inordinate amount of food, and Sakura watched, bewildered, as he proceeded to attack the corn once more.

"I think some of them have some truth to them." Merry began thoughtfully. "We went into his room, you know—

"And he didn't kill you?" Sputtered Sam.

"Wasn't there." Pippin piped up.

"—and there were tons and tons of knives in his bag." Merry nodded, as if triumphant about discovering this. "Much more then you'd usually need to kill an orc or two."

"No swords!" Pippin cried. "None we could see, anyway."

Sakura just sort of sat there numbly, unsure of to be insulted by the fact that the three just immediately assumed her to be a man, or surprised that there'd be so many stories and rumors that circled Middle Earth about her. Sure, King Thranduil kind of seemed like a well to do kind of guy with a lot of friends in a royal court or two, but really, the elf lived in _caves. _Sakura assumed they mostly kept to themselves.

This Gandalf, she assumed, was friends with the King from her memories, and must have travelled the word about her prowess.

"A warrior, you say?" She began coyly.

Pippin smiled. "Yes indeed!"

"From a foreign land!" Merry added. "Across the ocean, too."

"But if you don't mind me asking," Pippin began before Merry even finished his sentence, "How did you get your hair like that? Roll in a blumberry bush?"

"It's always been like this." Sakura blinked, blushing. "I was born with it."

"They're not trying to be insulting, or anything." Sam explained, as if noting her flustered expression. "We're curious creatures, you know. Hobbits or Halflings, we're called. We don't get out much so seeing so many elves, even ones with pink hair are surprising to us!"

"Elf?" Sakura echoed, before waving her hands in protest. "Oh no, no, no… I'm not an elf."

"No?" Pippin tilted his head. "Then what are you?"

"Uh—well," She began lamely. "Human, I suppose. "

"How queer." Blinked the small, redhead. "Never seen a big person with hair like yours. But then, I suppose I've never seen too many big people."

Sakura found the hobbits mostly curious little creatures, small hands, noses, well, small everything except for feet and stomachs. The three she had encountered explained they were staying in Rivendell until their friend Frodo woke up. Frodo, she learned, was travelling to Rivendell on an errand for Gandalf the Grey, and had been injured on their way to the elven realm. Strider, their guide which they met in Bree, led them towards Rivendell, tried to heal him but couldn't find any way. Luckily, Lady Arwen rescued the young Hobbit and brought him to her father.

Sakura mused that this surely had something to do with her job which-as-of-now-has-yet-to-be-named, but didn't question upon it.

She also thought that she had already knew everything there was to know about Middle Earth in her two month stay from before.

Then Pippin grabbed her—quite strongly, for a man of his size—and swung her onto the dance floor that evening.

Apparently, elves not only loved to sing, but dance and tell story's in four-quarter rhyming schemes about all sorts of terrible events that ended up sounding really quite romantic when rhymed correctly. After being worn out by Pippin, Sakura found herself dozing off sleepily to the tale of a man who slayed some great terrifying demon. Everyone else seemed quite petrified, but Sakura found the elf's voice too soothing to care about how the man in the story nearly lost his four limbs.

The following morning, and Sakura was summoned to the council.

.

.

For such a terribly important and serious council, apparently to address events of great disaster, the scenery really couldn't be any more opposite.

It was fall in Middle Earth, much like it was back home. Leaves were bright like saffron and poppies, and the sun dappled the side of Sakura's face, leaving warm kisses down her cheek. Gandalf had arrived early as well, and commented with such dreadful sorrow that he missed her lovely dress from the day before. She had once more donned shinobi attire, dressed almost completely in black and gray, aside from her shockingly pink hair.

There were two very stout, round bearded folk, of which Sakura had never seen before but could plainly understand them to be dwarves who arrived soon after. They stared, mostly unabashedly, at the color of her hair.

Sakura pretended to take no notice.

Aragorn arrived some time after, along with Lord Elrond, and those other two elves whose names she couldn't recall.

Frodo hovered near the entrance to the broad courtyard, looking forlorn and unsure of himself. Sakura smiled, assuming that the young dark-haired hobbit must be the one who had woken earlier that day, much to the delight of her new short-people friends.

She patted the seat next to her, and Frodo nervously took it.

Behind them, the bush rustled almost incomprehensibly.

Sakura looked back, catching Gandalf's eye. The man was smiling. A hobbit was crouched in the bushes, his curly red hair sticking out sorely among the dark green brambles. Sakura supposed that Gandalf must be aware of this, and if the man made no move to shove the hobbit away, neither would she.

She also supposed that Gandalf noticed the other two, hiding in the shadows behind the pillars.

The cautious, dark-eyed human from before made his way onto the balcony, alone.

There were still a couple more empty seats, so Sakura took the moment to breathe deeply and reflect on to how the hell she got here.

The faces of the people around her were grave and stone-etched, the hobbit next to her, once a brave, courageous fellow with intense curiosity now sat subdued and restless beside her. Aragorn, well, he always looked dreadfully serious, but the dwarves, of which she had heard many tales of them in their dwelling of Lonely Mountain not far from Mirkwood, were said to be quite happy, but solitary elf-hating creatures who kept to their stonework. The two looked anything but happy, or, for that matter, solitary and elf-hating (considering that they were in an elf haven…)

So Sakura could clearly make some sort of connection between the long, somber and humorless faces around her to the quest which Gandalf summoned her to. Obviously, this was no happy camping joy ride.

And obviously, there wouldn't be any dumb Naruto to brighten the mood.

(for now, anyway)

Sakura thought her life couldn't get much worse, pregnant, on a mission that she couldn't escape from without endangering Konoha's treaty with Middle Earth, stuck with Neji as her only fellow ninja—and even then, he was most likely half way across the continent by now—in the company of men, dwarves, hobbits, wizards and, god forbid, _elves _(again, Sakura experienced a near-hallucinating of Naruto's reaction to meeting them; "Sakura… are these people _magical fairies?_). The thought gave her a sudden abrupt jovial mood that was rather ineffable in its general notion.

And then, the last of the party made its way into the room.

Sakura's stomach dropped.

Also, so did her mood.

It would be her abysmal luck that she would meet the one person—err, elf—that she silently hoped and begged kami to stay out of her sight. She hadn't even been here for two weeks, and already, her prayers had been destroyed like a drop kick to the balls. Good god, she just couldn't catch a break.

It would be too kind of fate to have Legolas suddenly struck blind in that very moment, so Sakura averted her eyes to the stone table before them, as she noted with a miserable realization that he had seriously just paused in the middle of the room for about two and a half seconds, midstep, to stare at her in incomprehensive wonder.

She really didn't want to know what was going through his head at that moment.

* * *

_heh.. review? _


	3. strange flower

_the world is a vampire..

* * *

_

Although it would be rather unfair to understand the concept of "incomprehensive wonder" only from Sakura's lilted point of view.

Young Legolas—or really, old Legolas, considering the age of most beings around him sans Gandalf and most of the elves—hadn't expected to see much of Sakura either, after the rather abrupt ending to their relationship, which really wasn't much of a relationship at all.

King Thranduil, Legolas' father, had heard whispers of a great continent on the other side of the sea, filled with warriors of great and powerful strength, songs of the orient which travelled from the North. Supposedly, these masked figures could blend into darkness with an uncanny ability of deception, could fly through trees like birds and stand flat on walls. Legolas believed very little of it, as the travelers-if any-that stopped through Mirkwood and had contact with the elves were either dark and suspicious or quite a tad off their rocker.

However, the threat of Dol Guldur in the south was a terrifying prospect for all the free people of Mirkwood, and the King, with his people in mind, sent a missive to the Northwest, by bird, far across the sea to where the rumored people were said to live.

Weeks later, and a returning bird of a different breed entirely that Legolas had never seen before was perched in his father's study, watching him with unblinking eyes.

Someone had written back.

A Lady Tsunade promised to send one of her best, in exchange for a treaty with his father.

His father, of course, was immensely pleased to have contact with these fabled warriors, and sent a returning letter immediately, insisting that the pay would be whatever the great Lady wished it to be.

Legolas found this all a bit appalling, as they was no real way to fully understand or comprehend if his father had really managed to contact a people who were only rumored to be actually alive, until, of course, one of them arrived.

The elves of Mirkwood were in awe of the fighter who travelled through their patrols, twisting in the trees like a bird does on the high rising currents of the East. The patrols claimed that the figure pushed off of the limbs of the trees with an intense, but silent force, darting past them before they could question or even draw their arrows.

It wasn't long before the warrior was speaking directly to his father, and Legolas and his fellow elves were quite intrigued, wondering much about the warrior from fabled lands.

He was dressed almost completely in black, and even Legolas' elven eyes could not see through his obscured coat. Legolas could clearly remember the man's wavering figure, a bit small, but still altogether imposing as he turned his head to watch the elven prince enter the study. Legolas took his seat on the other side of the room where some of his father's advisors were looking in on the meeting as well. The figure, if alarmed at all by their watchful stares, made no movement that he was unnerved by this.

Then he took off his hood.

_She. _She was unlike anything he'd seen before. Standing intelligently in his father's study, with this bright, spring-flower colored hair. He couldn't see much from the angle, but her face look nothing like those from Middle Earth. It was smooth, with this light complexion that he'd only seen on elves, high cheekbones and a small nose. Her eyes, though, they were scrutinized everything, big and bright like sea glass.

He certainly hadn't expected a woman.

With pink hair, at that.

His skepticism couldn't be contained, as he and the other elves were sure of chicanery at work, yet she proved herself easily on the battlefield.

Legolas took quite the shine to her, something which surprised his father, as he had never taken much interest in anyone before. Perhaps it was her ability to move as fast as his arrows, or, her wide interest in everything of Middle Earth, especially the trees. She said her people were quite used to them, that her village was named The Hidden Village in The Leaves. Legolas hadn't expected her to be so unique, or, for that matter, so vague and elusive. Laconically, she would evade most questions he had for her, which made a conversation a hard tool to wield. This fact hardly bothered him, however, as somehow, he could sit in silence with her until dusk, watching her balance on the smallest branch as if she stood flat on the ground.

Sakura, as he found out her name was, spoke very little about herself, her homeland, or her career as a "ninja", a warrior of stealth.

She obscurely mentioned that being a ninja was hardly uncommon for women, and insisted that women were not a hindrance on the battlefield, as the world of Middle Earth seemed to provincially believe. She seemed rather pressed to wipe away this silly notion, and Legolas mused that she really was half way there, as she had impressed anyone who had ever seen her fight.

He was never one to indulge in intimate relations, but with Sakura, it seemed to come naturally.

She knew nothing of the custom of elves—only an ambiguous understanding that they lived for quite a long time—or their bonding habits and precepts, so it was only understandable that, to her, sexual intimacy hardly meant the same as it did to him.

He was going to explain it to her, at a time when he could catch her alone, but the very next morning a fire had started in her room—which she hadn't been in at the time, obviously—burning through most of her belongings. And, after that, they were immediately sent off to battle, which lasted for many days and really wasn't the correct time or place to explain it to her. Afterwards, Sakura was held up in many lengthy debates with his father, and, soon after, she disappeared in the gloaming hours of the morning.

Legolas was dismayed, of course, heartbroken even but he'd rather not come to use that terminology, as that would mean that he had more then likely fallen into deep intimacy with her, when his father told him jovially that Sakura had left to report back to her Lady Tsunade, with a great chance of forming an alliance.

The creature Gollum was captured by Aragorn and Gandalf weeks later, and King Thranduil wasted no time boasting in excitement over his latest achievement. The two were rather intrigued by the thought of a woman-warrior with such skills. Legolas preferred to stay out of the room when they discussed her, not wanting to dredge up unwanted memories or thoughts.

He'd thought he'd seen the very end of her soft rose colored hair, and wide viridian eyes.

He was wrong.

For there she was, studying the lines of the table intensely, looking much the same.

Her hair was still the color of flower petals in spring, cheeks dusted with life, malachite eyes bright. Her outfit had hardly changed, although Legolas did not recall the armored bone-white breastplate she wore over her torso, nor the close-toed boots in contrast to the strange, open-toed blue sandals she wore before.

How was he supposed to pay attention to any words out of Lord Elrond's mouth when the personification of his dreams was studiously glaring glorious holes into the marble flooring nearly five seats down from him?

.

.

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old you have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction, none can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the ring, Frodo"

Timidly, the boy did so. Sakura wanted to bemoan her life and its terrible, terrible inconsistencies. This wasn't part of the plan! Admittedly, there was no plan, but that really isn't the issue to argue.

The moment the glimmering object dropped onto the table that was so intensely under Sakura's apparent scrutiny, a man who looked vaguely familiar drew in a harsh breath.

"So it is true," He began with reverence. "In a dream, I saw the Eastern sky grow dark. But in the west, a pale light lingered. A voice was crying "the doom is near at hand, Isildur's Bane is found."

Now if Sakura had epic prophetic dreams like that, she'd definitely use her powers for more interesting things, like predicting Ino's next boyfriend, or how to avoid Lee without consequently running into Gai-sensei.

As Sakura pondered her would-be clairvoyant powers, and their brilliant usage in everyday life, the man walked slowly, as if in a trance, to reach for the ring.

"Isildur's Bane…"

His fingers twitched as they crossed the table, Sakura's head snapped up, and Aragorn stood.

"Boromir!" He called, and the man snapped out of his reverie.

"_Ash Nazg Durbatuluk, Ash Nazg Gimbatul, Ash Nazg Thrakatuluk, Agh Burzum-ishi Krimpatul…"_

Sakura watched, with a bewildered, sickly fascination as the sky seemed to darken into tumults of rolling nimbus clouds, poisonous words on Gandalf's tongue. So he really was magical…

Boromir backed away from the ring slowly, as Elrond looked sharply at the old wizard.

"Never before has anyone dared utter words of that tongue here, in Imaldris." He said sternly.

Gandalf shook his head. "I do not ask for pardon, Master Elrond," After this, his eyes gazed heavily on everyone gathered. Sakura did the same, as if memorizing their features, but quite studiously avoided a particularly section lying to Gandalf's left. "for the black speed of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West! The ring is altogether evil."

Boromir looked quite enraged at them. "It is a gift." He reasoned. "A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use the ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay." And, as if his words elicited anger within himself, he added, "By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him."

Sakura had never encountered anything quite like The Ring in the elemental countries before. Her scale of evil had unsearched depth, but the most evil thing she could possibly categorize at the very moment had to be Orochimaru. Anyone else she could, at least, see some hint of reason behind their actions.

The Ring, however, most likely inhabited the very depth of evil, defined it, even.

What it whispered was entirely implausible, yet somehow, it hardly mattered. So Sakura could understand how Boromir could get caught up in its deceptive shine, but the Ring promised fake promises.

As if proving her suspicions, Aragorn stood, looking quite unamused by Boromir's tangent. "You cannot wield it. None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

Boromir eyed him suspiciously. "And what would a mere Ranger know of this matter?"

Huh. Sakura had sort of been wondering that too.

It was Legolas who stood in Aragorn's defense. Sakura caught sight of the saffron light brightening the edge of his hair, the side of his nose lined with it, sun brightening the entire silhouette of his figure so he looked doused in gold. She immediately twisted her head away, to watch Frodo wring his tunic into knots with anxiety. She would have tried to help him, had she not been tempted to do the same.

"This is no mere Ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn." He spat. Legolas had obviously taken no shine to the Man from the South. "You owe him your allegiance."

Boromir turned back incredulously to where Aragorn sat, expressionless against his chair. "Aragorn? This is Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor." Said Legolas.

Aragorn, in Sakura's roving eyes, looked withered and frayed at the edges, as if this conversation was one he'd rather not be having. Was he afraid? Reluctant, even? She couldn't decipher her answer off of the mere tense lines of his face.

"_Havo dad, Legolas." _He said, in a language which sounded familiar, as if she had heard it many times before.

"Gondor has no king." Growled Boromir, before eventually taking his seat as well. And, more to himself, "Gondor needs no king."

Gandalf nodded sagely. "Aragorn is right. We cannot use it."

Elrond seemed to be expecting this answer. "Then there is no other choice. The ring must be destroyed."

At this point, one of the short, rotund fellows with the long beards stood, looking quite confused and a bit impatient about the whole affair. "Then what are we waiting for?"

He raised his axe—yes, she realized with frazzled disbelief, he had an big fucking axe just kind of chilling there on his belt all the time—and slammed it into the ring.

She ducked on reaction, pulling Frodo down with her. Above them, a chunk of broken axe swung by.

Elrond sighed. "The ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess. The ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. The ring must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came." He took a long look around the assembled people. "One of you must do this."

Boromir choked. "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly. "

Legolas seemed to grow more irritated with the man as he continued to speak. "Have you heard nothing of what Lord Elrond said?" He asked sarcastically. "The ring must be destroyed!"

Gimli, the short dwarf, seemed to take a personal offense to this. "And I suppose you think you're the one to do it, then?"

"And if we fail, then?" Boromir was all but shouting over the dwarf now, as he also towered over him in size as he stood. "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

Gimli seemed to become even more angered. "I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!"

Sakura blinked. Oh, yes, that was deep-seated feuding right there.

"Never trust an Elf!" Added the dwarf, brandishing his axe.

Sakura looked to Gandalf, a bit bewildered, wondering if he wanted her to step in. The old man, however, was looking pensively at the ring, then back at the crowd of three which now stood.

It was not long before the entire council erupted into outrage, as a longstanding feud between Elves and Dwarves tended to do. Elrond looked quite astounded by the rashness of all those assembled, as if he expected better of them. Gandalf, however, didn't seem to think himself above the fray, as he pushed himself through the crowd, yelling about.

"I will take the ring." Frodo whispered from beside her, his voice wavering and thin. Sakura turned to him with wide eyes.

"I will take the ring!" He shouted this time, as if the first time was more reassurance to himself.

The crowd silenced.

"I will take the ring." He said, once more, unsteadily. He lowered his eyes. "Though… I do not know the way."

Gandalf smiled then, as if the tiny little thing's bravery and courage were not as unknown to him as they were to Sakura. "I will help you on you're quest, Frodo Baggins. As long as it is your burden to bear."

"If by my life or death I can protect you, I will." Aragorn rose with awe as he stood to bow before the short hobbit. "You have my sword."

Legolas came forward, with only a lingering look to Sakura's prone form. "And my bow."

Gimli, not about to be overdone by an Elf, came forward as well. "And my axe!" He added.

"You carry the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done." Said Boromir.

"Hey!" Sam leapt out from the bushes behind Sakura and Gandalf, looking quite upset by the prospect of Frodo leaving without him. "Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me!"

Elrond raised his brows. "No indeed. It is hardly possible to separate you, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."

Sam had the decency to look a bit chastisied by this, but Merry and Pippin, who took their cue to leap out from behind the pillars, did not.

"Us too!" Said Merry as he ran over.

"Yes!" Pippin agreed. "Anyways, you need people of intelligence on this sort of…mission…quest…thing…"

"Hmm, ten companions," Elrond remarked pointedly looking to Sakura, who had neither stood nor voiced her allegiance as he looked at the party that had assembled before him. "So be it. You shall be the fellowship of the ring."

"Great!" Said Pippin, before pausing. "Where are we going again?"

.

.

Pippin was not the only one to be unaware about the extent of their journey.

At least now, Sakura had an actual label and definition for her mission. She was to help Frodo Baggins, a young hobbit from the Shire, to destroy the One Ring of Sauron in the depths of Mount Doom, far south from here in Mordor. At least, that's what she wrote down in her mission log. She could be like Kakashi, and wait three days after it was due to scrawl down the more interesting parts in unintelligible handwriting, but Sakura liked to think she was better then Kakashi and his lazy procrastination.

So here she was, getting a fresh start, pouring over maps and texts in the wan lighting of Lord Elrond's study, writing down the beginning of her mission report.

She hadn't heard from Neji yet, assuming that the last three days were enough for him to get fully settled in the city of Minas Tirith—which, she learned, was where Boromir actually hailed from—considering his unfamiliarity with the terrain. However, she was certain of his capabilities, just as Tsunade was.

Sakura gulped, and placed down her pen.

Naruto though..

Every mission team needed the guy who had less brains, a significant amount of brawn, and a luck streak that was unrivaled by any other. Naruto was that guy. He wasn't really muscled but he was toned, he packed a monster right hook, and he had the uncanny ability to always win in the end. He was also one of Konoha's most renowned Ninjutsu masters—considering that he was one of the only souls who actually had the amount of chakra to perform most of them all the time.

But, Sakura digressed, Naruto was also seriously lacking in _common sense, _and she could already see the plausible scenarios in which Naruto, in atypical Naruto fashion, insulted everyone in a six mile radius.

Sakura was looking, unseeingly, at the map in front of her, suddenly overcome with despair.

There was one issue. Another, bright, wonderful one would be the Elf who was currently residing somewhere in her near vicinity, whom she had, in all aspects, expected never to see again. Sakura also had no idea where she was even going—aside from a sort of destination and several thousand ways to get there.

Mordor was thousands of miles away. A shinobi team of experienced nin who knew the terrain well could make the trip in, possibly, with no injuries, two weeks. Possibly three. A group of inexperienced—well, it was an estimated range, as some were quite experienced, and others were sorely lacking—travelers who were most likely navigating by safest pass rather then fastest pass, well, that could take months.

Sakura _didn't have months._

She had, if her timing was to be trusted, three or four months at best. She could push five, but as a medic she knew that wouldn't be wise.

Afterwards, not only would she be showing, she'd also be more useless then productive.

If there was one thing Sakura hated more then _anything_, it was being useless.

She'd swore to herself, as she watched Sasuke, surrounded by the fading stars, walk into the darkness, sandals padding silently against the pavement, as she watched Naruto grin from past the gates, smaller and smaller, following Jiraiya into the great unknown, as Ino's fist collided with the back of her brain, as she crouched in the dim darkness of the library with her medical books, that she'd never be weak again.

She thought she was making good on her promise—she wasn't a burden anymore, Tsunade actually _needed _her on missions, and she could punch the ground and cause it to break, she mended broken limbs, and was building up her own wicked ninjutsu collection.

And hell, if she'd be that girl again.

She retired to bed eventually, aware that without rest her body would riot against her, whether she willed it to or not. There was only so much blood replenishing pills, soldier bars, and chakra pills could do. Natural rest was, in terms of the medic-nin, downright golden.

So was the dawn as she woke up.

She had sort of hoped that by pretty much everyone else besides her vouching to accompany Frodo, Gandalf might just be like, "Yeah we don't need you anymore. Go home, take your ridiculous amount of cash and have yourself a happy life with your half-elf child, who, when he enrolls into the Academy, will most likely be ridiculed by Naruto's children for being half-fairy" and give her a wave and send her on her merry way.

_Not so._

Her alarm clock didn't wake her up, there was no running water waiting for her two steps down the hall, and no electronic stove to cook some decent food that would have been there in Konoha.

However, waking up in Imaldris was nothing like waking up on a regular dirt-and-mud mission. In fact, she rather liked the pristine whiteness of her room overlooking the river.

(She had a sneaking suspicion that, once this thing really got rolling, she'd be having a lot of those dirt-and-mud moments)

The Fellowship left at an ungodly hour.

A few elves were there to see them off.

As they did so, Sakura made an effort to expand the distance between her and Legolas. The blonde was saying farewell to his kin, and she was making a point to chill with the Dwarf for the _entire_ mission. Hopefully use that dwarf-elf hatred to her advantage.

"Gimli, right?" She said conversationally, staring down at the stout creature.

"That is my name, my lady." He replied rather formally. Sakura supposed she'd just have to beat that out of him.

"Just Sakura, please." She insisted, with a vague wave of her hand. "Calling me my lady makes me feel old and prissy."

"Sakura, then." He agreed.

They gave the final farewell, Frodo nervously leading the way, with Gandalf's soothing presence beside him. Afterwards was Sakura and Gimli, followed by Sam and his pony, Merry, Pippin, and then Aragorn and Legolas in the back. Thinking of the blonde elf made Sakura nervous, so she blurted, "I've never met a dwarf." For lack of anything else to say.

"Never?" Repeated Gimli, quite surprised. "There are no dwarf-folk in your lands?"

"None that I'm aware of." She nodded.

"That's preposterous!" Gimli cried in outrage. "But—who mines your metals? Works the mountains?"

"People, I guess…" Sakura really had no idea. "Is that what Dwarves do here?"

Gimili nodded. "Dwarves are happiest when among rocks."

Sakura supposed dwarves were easy creatures to please, then.

"Ninja are happiest in trees." She said.

Gimli looked at her strangely. "Are they elves?" He asked, a little bit wary.

"Oh, no." Sakura assured him. It was imperative for him to not associate her in any way with elves. "We like sleeping in trees as much as we like cutting them down. We're not very elf-like."

"Ah, I see." Gimli seemed to take this as an adequate answer.

For most of the first day Gimli chattered on about stonework, melding metals, and finding precious ores. Sakura feigned interest, but after a while, the deep rumble of his voice was rather pleasing, and she found herself genuinely content to converse with him, instead of just sticking around for his natural anti-elf warding presence.

Sakura had no contact at all with Legolas, which she was immensely pleased with.

They stopped some time during the night, the hobbits setting up most of the camp. She would have offered to gather wood, but that would mean wandering in the darkness alone, where a certain elf could find her. Instead, she plopped down as close to Gimli as possible without being a intrusive and weird. She silently cheered as Aragorn sat next to her, effectively blocking her in.

Sam puttered around the fire once it really got blazing, cooking up something that actually smelled sort of delicious.

"So, you're really the warrior man?" Merry asked her excitedly some time at this point, crawling over to where she was to sit in front of her.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Beside her, Legolas and Aragorn spoke softly in elvish.

She pretended she wasn't interested.

* * *

_hooh ooo hooh ooo! _


	4. high noon blue

_ashddghjas;gjh christmas always sucks every year. but anyway, enjoy the updatee!

* * *

_

"Is that what they're calling me?" She wondered aloud with bemusement. It sounded like something they'd call the Shodai Hokage, not little old Sakura. If they were surprised by her strength now, what would they say about Naruto?

Merry nodded, looking confused. "Well it's true, isn't it?"

"I suppose." Sakura said thoughtfully.

Merry was still watching her with intense interest, and when he began to peer closely at her, she pulled back with apprehension.

"And can you punch the ground and make it break? And the knives? Why do you have so many? What about the swords?" As if cued by his sudden bout of curiosity, he grabbed one by the shaft and pulled it out a bit, much to Sakura's alarm, as the blade was quite sharp and Merry held it with inexperienced hands.

"Uh—Merry," She started, making to reach for it.

He pulled it away from her. "Oh!" He blinked. "What kind of writing is that? I've never seen anything like it before…"

"It's Kanji." Kakashi-sensei had given her that sword. "Merry, really…"

She wavered a bit on the log, wondering if she should snatch it out of his grip—it didn't seem too strong—or let him continue, as he hadn't cut himself yet, and really, he wasn't doing any damage. He was just being curious…

"Merry!"

Aragorn came up then, and pulled it out of his hands for her. He looked at him admonishingly. For his part, Merry seemed a bit subdued.

He handed the sword back to her, which she took gently.

"You'll have to excuse Hobbits." He said with mirth. "They are quite curious creatures."

Sakura huffed. "I figured."

"But I suppose you cannot blame them, really." Aragorn began thoughtfully. "We have never seen someone so… different."

Sakura wondered if he was trying to compliment her, or insult her.

.

.

Sakura ended up sleeping in the trees, as most Konoha ninja tended to do. They were lofty, secure, and she highly doubted she'd be seeing orcs attempt to scrabble their way up the top of the pine tree. And other ninja, well, she just didn't even need to worry about that.

It was about six or so in the morning, and Sakura had gotten a good, stable few hours of sleep. Mostly, she was more worried about the baby's fragile health then her own.

Not for the first time since she had arrived here, she was regretting her silence.

Sam Gamgee was puttering below her, and she could hear the clanging of his pots from what seemed to be miles away. She cringed. The Fellowship was infinitely lucky for their good fortune—they hadn't run into any meaningful sort of trouble yet. She wondered if perhaps it wasn't as lucky as she thought. Orc-less regions of Middle Earth weren't uncommon, but without any sort of predator? Any watchful eye?

At any rate, a bag with rations was calling out to her, so she jumped out of the tree.

Gimli squawked in surprise as she flipped down, dropping next to him with nothing more then a soft thud and the flip of her hair.

"But you—" He pointed wildly. "You were just—the tree! The tree! You were in the tree!" He sputtered. "How did you get down here?"

Sakura watched him amusedly. "I jumped." She explained slowly. Gimli, if possible, became more flabbergasted.

Aragorn was some ways behind her, crouched in front of the fire. "Good timing, too." He said with bemusement. "We hadn't any idea how to get you down—we were going to send Legolas up."

A sudden storm of tension seemed to seize the entire campsight, as Legolas turned to stone and Sakura abruptly turned and walked into the forest. Even the hobbits, the most blunt and unsubtle of creatures sensed the heavy pause. Merry and Pippin prior to the sudden halt in frolicking had been arguing with each other on how Sakura was able to kill people with the strange things they had found in her bag. Certainly, she'd be angry at them when she realized that they had been rummaging through her stuff, but the couldn't resist the allure of the small, pin like needles. About as long as a finger, but as thin as a horse-tail hair.

As she waltzed off into the dim mist that tousled the forest flooring, Aragorn blinked.

"Was it something I said?"

"Women," Huffed Gimli, as he lounged. "You just never know what to do with them."

Boromir was equally guffawed by her sudden cooling mood, sitting by Gandalf, who was smoking his pipe. "I'm still a bit in awe with the hair." He said jokingly. "Are you sure she's as good as you say?"

Legolas narrowed his eyes, walking into the forest as well. "You'd be wise to hold your tongue." He said scathingly over his shoulder, as he nimbly moved through the condensing fog.

Aragorn was a bit surprised with his elven friend's sharp words, but Legolas didn't seem to like Boromir very much, and he had the most experience with Sakura, so perhaps he was simply looking out for her honor, or perhaps just wanting an excuse to smite the Gondorian.

Meanwhile, Sakura wandered aimlessly through the deep, wet mist. From the pine tree she had camped out on, it seemed beautiful and wraith-like, moving through the woods like a silent calamity. Now that she was shoulder deep in it, she was starting to itch with the humidity. It was foolish of her to think that hanging out with the dwarf would somehow minimize the presence of Legolas.

Sure, he definitely wasn't intruding in their conversations, but that didn't mean Sakura wasn't watching him some ways in front of her, nimbly moving through the terrain, or feeling his eyes behind her, unwavering.

Conversation was inevitable, she steeled herself, hearing his light elven footsteps from behind her.

"You didn't have to run off like that," He said rather wisely, ducking swiftly under a swooping branch.

Sakura belated mused that their child would certainly be adorable, if Legolas was anything to go by.

"The smell of the camp was bothering me." She lied loosely.

He blinked at her with the vapid summer blue of his eyes. "I was not talking about now."

"Oh."

_Oh._

"You should have told me before you left." He pressed on. "I would have seen you off, or at least, explained things further to you, had I the chance. It should not have ended like that. I cannot express my apologies for my—

"Honestly." She interrupted weakly. "It's fine. "

It felt like eighty-one summers past her as he watched her reproachfully. The sea in his eyes, and the smooth line of his jaw, the tendons of his neck and the mobile shoulders—honestly, this guy could pass for Adonis or something.

He looked pleading, and deeply apologetic.

Confused, she asked in a whisper," Do people like, not, you know…have sex, here?"

Her confusion was mirrored in his own, as his brows furrowed., as if he wasn't used to such a vulgar term. "No, it's very uncommon out of wedlock."

Hah. Well they were certainly part of that uncommon percentage then, weren't they?

Sakura said nothing though, only taking this information in. Obviously, they were in a state of misperception. Sakura had just sort of assumed that elves, in that respect, could be as nefarious as ninja—who were notorious for getting around—but maybe she had it all wrong.

So they just looked like ethereal porn stars but did nothing about it?

It wasn't really her place to judge, so she said nothing, choking out a weak, "Oh…"

Legolas was watching her strangely, Sakura was feeling her deep hatred for awkward conversations rise considerably, so she beckoned him to follow her. "Hey. Let's get back to camp."

It hadn't changed very much. Pippin seemed to have burned his toe, a feet which, with the dim, small fire, seemed almost impossible. After reaching the small clearing Sakura immediately made for the other side, seeing Legolas sit with a bemused, if not curious looking Gandalf. Aragorn was smoking his pipe on a rock, looking more or less entertained by Boromir's practice on a withered tree.

He fought like most men in Middle Earth, with a broad stance, a shield to cover the stance openings, and a wide sword. While some of his movements were fluid, they were mostly blockish and relied on his brute strength rather then his speed. Sakura, so used to the way of the ninja, which, if anything, relied on speed, was guffawed by this. She had seen it back in her previous time in Middle Earth, but it never ceased to surprise her.

She sat onto a rock and debated her options. She could spar with a clone, but even a light spar might be too tedious, considering there was a day of walking to be thought of.

She could try some moves on a tree like Boromir, but one look at the man and she decided against it.

The fellowship began their long trek for the day, Sakura keeping closer to Gimli then was necessary. The dwarf didn't comment on it, much more enthused at the listening ear she represented for his stone talents and tales of deep mine trenches. They trudged through a land of deep valleys and turbulent waters, great mountains rising sharply to the left of them.

Sakura had never seen so much open space.

In the Hidden Nations, there was always an outpost, some sort of town or village, a patrolling group of ninjas, telephone wires, _something_ that took up most of the space. In Middle Earth, here were small pockets of realms where people lived, the rest was free roaming territory.

She knew that, in size, Middle Earth and the Hidden continent were about the same. But Middle Earth seemed grander, less explored… untamed, almost.

By sundown, Gandalf had lead the company up a narrow, hazarding pass through large craggy rocks, which seemed to encircle the steep mountains before them.

"We must hold this couse west of the Misty Mountains for forty days." Sakura paled at that. "If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still be open to us. From there, our road turns east, to Mordor."

Sakura had studied the map prior, and knew that they were attempting to cross through the small gap in the mountains, aptly named the gap of Rohan, as it ended in the realm of the horsemen. She realized with unease that at the party's current pace—which was, admittedly so slow that it was nearly lethargic—this mission could really take a year, or more.

Tsunade had mentioned this, of course, but at the time, Sakura was recalling that at enhanced speed, the road from the Grey Sea to Mirkwood had been about three weeks travel (by herself, with light provisions, no hobbits, no slow walking, no rest stops…) and judging from that distance, Mordor would be about a month.

She was wrong.

She hadn't taken into account the slow pace of the Hobbits, their bumbling, unaccustomed bare feet, nor the unfamiliar, hostile terrain, blistering winds, and unimaginable amount of resting Hobbits seemed to be capable of.

By the time they had made it to the Eregion Hills, they were too tired to do much else then sleep. The Hobbits all fell in a rather adorable heap of curly hair and big feet, Sam already snoring by the time his head had hit his pillow. Gandalf had found himself a nice rock on which to smoke his pipe, and Aragorn joined him. The other three, all of which had never had much camaraderie, nor had met each other before (or were even inclined too, for that matter), all spread their different ways.

Sakura waited until after dusk to quietly sneak off, as the fire dimmed and Gandalf's pipe was nothing more then a dull spark in the dark.

She peered over the rock she had ducked behind, looking for signs of life at the dull and silent camp sight. When she neither saw or heard, she quickly pulled her shirt up, and rubbed lubricant over it. A faint green glow pulsed from her hand as she slowly rubbed it in circles.

Her eyes closed, as her probing fingers searched for a heartbeat.

It wasn't exactly the best medical attention she could give to her baby, but it was the best she could make do with.

After a few minutes, she began to worry about the aching silence that accompanied the probing.

A restless feeling overcame her, as her fingers were met with nothing. It was possible that the baby was turned over, or simply too small for this kind of procedure, and it was just as possible that the heartbeat was just not there at all.

Her hand stilled, glowing faintly green.

This was a good thing, right? This mission would take longer then she had previously thought, pregnancy was the worst hindrance a kunoichi could experience, and all it would do was slow her down and make her weak. This way, she'd be at full health, and wouldn't have to worry about the complications that came with all this…

Aragorn found her that way, moments after he had heard a stirring somewhere behind him.

He peered slowly, sword in hand, ready to slay an orc or two which could be hiding behind the rocks.

Sakura had a far off look, the dim green glow from the hand on her stomach lighting her face in a firefly-like light, looking considerably more vulnerable then Aragorn had ever seen her. It was strange to think that this warrior woman, surrounded by tales of beastly skills, a true slayer of orcs and monsters, and even said to have taken down the great dragon of Dol Guldur. While this may be true or not, either way Aragorn had a slightly warped perceptive of the woman in front of him—because she may have many elusive names and titles, but really, that's what she was.

A pretty woman with pink hair, who, at the moment, was looking quite forlorn and lost.

"You shouldn't stray too far by yourself." He spoke aloud, and the ninja jumped and rearranged her clothes.

Sakura looked over her shoulder to peer at him through the fringe of her lashes, as if to say, "Do you really think I couldn't handle myself?" But there was only silence and the dull rhythm of crickets in the distance.

"I felt like moving around." She said by way of explanation, standing and turning to look out into the vague fog.

"This is hardly the place for a walk." Replied Aragorn. "Sauron's eyes are everywhere—even when so far away from Mordor."

She watched him through lidded lashes. "Sauron?"

"The dark lord." He explained. "The original owner of the ring that Frodo is now burdened to carry."

She nodded, making to sit down on one of the rocks. "And the trip to Mordor?" She looked up, to where Polaris dotted the sky. "How long will that take?"

"It depends." Aragorn shifted uneasily. "Many weeks, I should think."

"This world is vast." She agreed, and Aragorn found he couldn't read her face for emotion.

He nodded. "Wasn't yours?"

"It doesn't seem like it to me." She thought of the journey to Wave, the harrowing week and a half it took. Or the journey to Suna she and Shikamaru had made before she left—about the same distance from Rivendell to Rohan—which had taken about two weeks. And even then, the delay was because of Shikamaru's laziness. Perhaps she was just used to faster travel.

He looked unsure of what to say, most likely taking her far off look and few words as something entirely different. "You must miss it."

"I suppose so." Maybe, maybe just a little bit. "But I'm used to travelling to far off places." She smiled then. "I guess you could say its part of the job."

"And what is that job, exactly?" A question that had been bothering him lately. King Thranduill had explained to Gandalf and he what little he knew of the land of stealth-warriors, of shinobi. Sakura had been on a mission to defend Mirkwood from Dul Guldur, so he had assumed that most of the jobs she took were quite similar.

"Well it depends." Aragorn was surprised to see a smile light up her face. He belatedly realized she hadn't smiled the whole time she had been here. "When you're young, you do a lot of stupid missions. Fetching water for a villager, plowing fields," And then, with a pinched face, "Finding lost pets."

"When you get older, the missions change." There was a far off look in her eyes as she said this. "I remember my first big mission was escorting an old man back to his country to help him build a bridge. It was the first time I had ever been far from home."

"These days I do a lot of assassinations or reconnaissance. Sometimes with a team, sometimes without." She sat crosslegged now, wondering why she was explaining so much to Aragorn. It wasn't like most of it would make much sense to him. Middle Earth clung to the ideas which they have always had—women stayed at home, men fought with honor on a great battlefield with many horses and men.

"And this is… acceptable? All this murder?" His brows furrowed. Sakura wondered if he was thinking of the elf princess Arwen, with her soft hands and unsullied, bloodless hands. Sakura supposed that was the image of women in Middle Earth, strong and confident, but never fighting, graceful and free of sin.

"It is the way of shinobi." She explained, even though it hardly explained much at all.

He looked so perplexed, she elaborated further. "Although, most shinobi aren't women. It's not uncommon, but there are more men in the field." She thought of herself, as a Gennin, wondering if she had made the right choice when her teammates and everyone else seemed so much stronger then her. "And its optional." She added, and watched the relief on his face.

He sat down with her, and she turned to face him. "Why so many questions, anyway?"

"I'm curious." He shrugged sheepishly. "I suppose we all are."

"That's natural I guess." She admitted, and the blushed. "The questions, I mean. I expected to have quite a few for me."

"There is a lot of myth surrounding you." Aragorn mused. "They say you can cut rocks with your sword, and cause earthquakes in the ground with your fists, yet I cannot find any answer as to how this could be true."

Sakura blinked. "Well… those are a little different." She admitted. "Ninja are, by trade, warriors of stealth."

And then, as she thought of Naruto. "Although many aren't very stealthy at all. But ninja are most profound in the art of chakra. What you're thinking of is chakra nagashi, an ability to channel chakra into a weapon or a part of your body, to increase its abilities."

If possible, he only looked more confused by her explanation.

She scratched her head. "Uh, it's hard to explain."

"But the night grows shorter. We'll need rest for the journey in the morning." He turned back to camp. "I would feel more at ease if I knew you were near." He added.

The pinkhaired woman sighed, and got up from her rock, to follow Aragorn back to the small clearing of rocks.

* * *

_hooh ooo hooh ooo! _


	5. salty snow

_Updation nation over here. Thanks for all the reviews; because I am a review whore and appreciate them so much its downright near orgasmic. P: Someone gave me a really amusing one; I haven't the slightest idea what jaguar batter tastes like, but i assume it'd be quite tasty. tangy, even? and no, its not a typo for battle, though it would make so much more sense if it was. I am compiling all the fanart as I type this, so be prepared for a major updation of them soon :D_

* * *

Come morning, the Eregion Hills were besotted with a thick, film-like covering of mist. The winter chill was cold, and Sakura was glad for her cloak. Sam was prodding at the campfire, and Sakura bemusedly was under the impression he'd make a fine housewife. Or, perhaps the more acceptable term would be handy man. He seemed to always be the one to cook and fix things up, tending to the pony and generally being a useful Hobbit.

She couldn't really say that about the rest of them.

Frodo, of course, had his job to do, if it was much of a job at all. In some ways, the kunoichi felt a little sorry for him. The ring whispered false promises, but one couldn't really understand that notion unless looking from an unbiased perception like she did. Ninja were the most conniving and deceiving of them all, and Sakura knew exactly what that ring was doing. And while outwardly, he sat as limp and as useful as the rocks around him, what must be going on in his head had to take a toll on him.

The other two blumbering fools, well, they did little or nothing at all.

Pippin seemed to be at least attempting something, however, as he danced about Boromir's sword, attempting to get used to some light sword play. Boromir swung at him fairly slowly, with broad, avoidable arcs. If possible, Pippin seemed to get himself in the way of all of all of them.

"Get away from the blade, Pippin." Boromir lectured the young hobbit, as if reading her mind. "On your toes… good, very good." He swung again. ...Pippin sort of dodged. "I want you to react, not think."

Sam chuckled from the fire. "Should not be too hard." He snickered to Frodo, who gave him a faltering, wan smile.

"Move your feet." Boromir swung at them for added measure, and Pippin leapt (successfully) out of the way.

"Quite good, Pip!" Cheered Merry, from where he sat with Aragorn. Said Ranger looked more amused then anything, the smoke of his pipe wafting softly into the crisp air like curling tendrils.

Pippin grinned. "Thanks!"

Meanwhile, Legolas stood, elven eyes searching the horizion line. Behind him, Gimli sat with Gandalf, who, like Aragorn, seemed to be taking the down time to enjoy his own pipe. He couldn't see anything yet, aside from the unfaltering refined edges of the mountain, and the haze which soaked the ground like a writhing snake. But, he had been sure of it, there was something he had heard out there, something that hadn't sounded quite right…

"If anyone were to ask for my opinion," Simpered the Dwarf from behind him. "Which I note they have not, I would say we are taking the long way around."

Gandalf made no move to answer him.

So Gimli continued on. "Gandalf, we can pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin, Balin, would give us a royal welcome."

Gandalf's face turned rigid. "No Gimli," His voice was strained. "I would not take the road through Moria unless I had no other choice."

Legolas took one last look at the burning horizon, before leaping off of the high rock formation and back onto the ground, away from the two discussing their travel route and over to where Sakura was sitting placidly near Sam and Frodo.

She looked… not ill, but certainly not in the best of health. Although Legolas couldn't quite remember a time when she did. There had always been something perhaps not full about her, like she was missing something. Like a piece of her had wandered off and never returned. Legolas didn't quite know what to think, for he knew that Sakura would never confide in him her troubles, if she did so at all to anyone.

The woman was so secretive, it was hard to tell.

He sat down next to her, and for once, it seemed her hardwiring to his presence had tuned out, for she scarcely noticed.

"Did you sleep well?"

She jolted out of her thoughts.

The bright eyes turned to him, with a half-smile that could have meant anything. "Not particularly, but good enough. I'm not a fan of this pass… there's too little cover."

Legolas agreed, but he was biased. He loved the trees, the cover they provided and their canopy of soft leaves. "We'll have quite a ways of this, I should think."

Sakura frowned. "Why? Are we continuing upwards?"

"There aren't many other ways to get around a mountain, are there?" He smiled at her wryly.

"You have a point." She conceded with a laugh.

But to be perfectly honest, Legolas couldn't have cared less about their conversation, only with the fact that she at least seemed to be up to conversing with him at all. He still had trouble wrapping his head around the fact that she was here, in Middle Earth, after so many nights passing in which he plead to the stars to bring her back. There was nothing more heart breaking then knowing she was far across the sea and land, in a place where he couldn't follow.

He couldn't even help it, as if his hand had compelled itself entirely on its own, brushing a soft lock of her flower colored hair behind her ear.

Sakura blushed.

He knew there were entirely too many things about her that she preferred to hide behind her vast, looming walls of obscurity. So many parts of her that he'd never know, because this was not her home, never would be, and she wouldn't cease her restless guard unless she was safe in that Hidden Village of hers. It was a morose thought, to know there was a part of Sakura he'd never see.

But he wasn't being entirely truthful, either.

Sakura knew nothing about the elves, their practices, their culture—nothing aside from what an outsider would know. The subject of mating, of a mate in general, was something he knew absolutely nothing of how to broach. He never thought he'd had to, as he figured that his mate would be a fellow elf, who would understand completely. Elves mated for life, for their long, eternal time on this earth and would never stray or take another.

But Legolas didn't think she'd understand that, even want to, really. The life of the ninja seemed so free, from all the broken bits of it he managed to hear from her, and he figured she'd enjoy her freedom much more then being tethered down.

So he was pleasantly surprised when her hand rubbed his, and a shy, coy smile was almost-hidden behind the waves of her hair.

He couldn't help it; he smiled back.

Behind them, Boromir took a thrust at the hobbit, catching Pippin on the hand. Pippin threw down his sword to catch the Gongorian in surprise, kicking and lunging at Boromir, and tackled him to the ground. Aragorn was chortling in laughter, more so at the man's face then anything, and Merry was kicking his legs as he rolled on a rock. Even Sam and Frodo looked up then, joining in the laughter.

That's when Legolas heard it again—that strange, almost mangled sounding noise he'd heard off in the distance that morning.

He turned abruptly, eyes narrowed into the distance.

His eyes widened. "Crebain from Dunlan!" He shouted, and Gandalf and Aragorn sprang up and ushered the Hobbits into cover wildly. Aragorn grabbed the bucket of water and doused the fire as he lunged into the bramble, taking Sam with him.

Frodo and Merry huddled under the cover of some rocks, and Boromir and Gandalf had disappeared entirely from sight. It was Gimli left, looking like he didn't understand the meaning of the words at all, and had no one to guide him as the hobbits did.

Sakura stole one glance at the surprised looking Dwarf, before lunging at him.

Legolas attempted to hold her back. "Sakura—!"

But his voice went unheard, as Sakura flew through handseals, and Legolas watched with morbid fascination as both her and Gimli disappeared completely from sight, looking as if they had turned into nothing but foliage. The elf himself had found cover in the foliage, and the birds circled around their campsight once, twice, before they disappeared off the crest of the mountain and out of sight.

Gandalf stumbled out of a small cavern of rocks then, hat lopsided and beard wrapped around his shoulder. He brushed it off, and for his comical appearance he was really quite serious. "Spies of Saruman." He surmised worriedly. "The passage South is being watched."

He looked to Aragorn, who was helping Frodo and Merry up. The Ranger caught his eye, and he gestured up to the high slopes which backdropped them.

"We must take the pass of Caradharas." His face was grim, and Aragorn's matched his.

"Where is the dwarf?" Called Boromir, as he pulled Sam out of the bramble with him. The hobbit had more then a few twigs in his messy strawberry hair. "And the woman."

Aragorn whirled around, surprised that he hadn't even caught that. "I—

"Sakura used some sort of technique to hide them." Legolas explained, as he gracefully moved around the foliage. "I don't know what it was, or how she managed to achieve it, but they seem to have disappeared completely."

"We're still here!" And then, _"Kai_!"

Gimli and Sakura both reappeared, as a heap in the clearing. The ninja stood, brushing off her pants.

Boromir, hell, the entire Fellowship watched them as if they were entirely inhuman. Even Gandalf, the sorcerer, hadn't managed to be able to hide himself from sight completely. The dwarf looked shaken, as if he couldn't quite believe it himself. Sakura, for her part, looked as if she'd done nothing particularly extraordinary, and was watching their surprised faces with trepidation.

"What vile sorcery is this?" Cried Boromir.

Sakura shook her head, looking vaguely annoyed. "It's not _sorcery._ It's called _Genjutsu. _It's a hidden ninja art."

Boromir looked scarcely placated, if he was at all. "It's deception."

"That's the job of a ninja." Sakura pointed out, before crossing her arms. "Look, if you don't want my services, then I really don't see the problem here—

"That's not what we mean to say at all." Aragorn intervened swiftly, sending a brief, scathing look to the man. "It's just… your skills are unheard of in these lands, and in these dangerous times, it's hard to be trustworthy of things that one does not understand. Boromir is simply being… apprehensive."

Sakura took this as an acceptable answer, nodding stiffly before helping Gimli up. For his part, the dwarf looked as if he was more then grateful for the woman, and certainly wouldn't be apprehending her or her unique abilities.

"You'll have to forgive Boromir." Said Legolas, looking like he hardly wanted to do so himself. "He's a man. They're brash and narrow, and think very little past themselves."

Sakura wanted to point out that she was a man too, or at least, part of their species, as she wasn't a dwarf or an elf, but decided not to say anything. There was little she could do about the situation now, and Boromir hardly looked like the kind to change his ways.

The company made their way up the mountain, the snow a light fall to their step, which eventually became thicker as they trudged up the winding passage. Rocks still lined the pass, but they were snow covered and so entrenched in the falling precipitation that they looked more like lumps against the smooth surface. They clambered deeper, Aragorn holding the back while Gandalf took the front, the hobbits all in a procession through the waded parts of the snow. Sakura had took to carrying Pippin, as the snow hardly slowed her down when she could walk on top of it.

It was surprising that Legolas could do the same.

Elves were surely light footed, very fast and nimble and had uncanny accuracy, as they were more prone to archery then sword fighting. Sakura found it particularly ironic that the one person she was attracted to in Middle Earth was the one who so clearly resembled her own people. Elves would make fine ninja, had they the chakra and the ability to deceive without feeling faint of heart. The race really was too kind-hearted for their own good.

This musing brought Sakura back to the thought that had distracted her the most; her feelings towards Legolas.

Certainly, during the time of her baby's conception, there was no love lost on her part. It was a mistake, and she turned away from Middle Earth without a second thought. She hadn't meant to start anything with Legolas, fully knowing that she'd be gone as soon as possible, but he had been attractive, very obviously into her, and Sakura had spent _way _too many months in celibacy.

The woman paused in her trekking.

Good god, she was turning into Ino.

Although, in Sakura's defense ninja were notorious for their sluttish ways, and it was hardly absurd to know that many of them had a very satisfying sex life. They lived and breath through death, and that kind of tension, that kind of _thrill, _adrenaline rushing through your veins as once again, you came home after an intimate moment with death that couldn't quite be contained and usually manifested in other ways. And anyway, who wanted to die with a V-card intact? That'd just be pathetic.

But most ninja weren't stupid enough to have their birth control spontaneously combust.

Admittedly, it was more the maid's fault then Sakura's, as she had been cleaning her room and had accidently triggered one of her combustion seals by knocking it over, but the fact remained that her emergency contraceptive was gone and it'd be useless by the time she made it back to Konoha.

Sakura was more perturbed over the fact that she'd actually reached for his hand.

So she did what she did best—ignore him.

It was sort of hard, considering that they were the only two who had the ability to walk over the snow, while the rest had trudge through it. Hell, Gimli's head hardly bobbed over the snowline.

"Boromir." Aragon's voice was deep and surprised her; none were overly fond of the Gongorian, but the Ranger's voice left no room for question. She whirled around, to see the blonde man staring wonderingly at the Ring, glittering on its chain.

The whole party had stopped.

The wind whipped at the edges of Sakura's cloak, whipping her hair into a storm. She could make out the scene from the fringes of her hair—Frodo had fallen a few ways down the mountain, and Boromir must have picked it up from where it had fallen. The more applicable question would be if he had any intention of giving it back.

"It is strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing… such a little thing." His eyes never left the golden flicker, voice low and reverent.

"Boromir…" Aragorn coaxed quietly. "Give the ring to Frodo." His hand slowly drifted to his sword hilt.

The man seemed to snap out of his trance, handing the ring back to Frodo. "As you wish, I care not." He ruffled Frodo's hair, the Hobbit looking less then pleased, and moved off.

.

.

The mountain trail lead steadily up the corners of the giant Misty Mountains, which, true to their name, were perpetually surrounded in an unwavering mist. Sakura held her own, regardless of whatever… health issues she had at the moment, as did the general part of the company which resided over five feet, but it was the smaller folk who were more worrying.

Gimli was stout, but strong, and he pledged on like a trooper, regardless of his stride length. The Hobbits, less accustomed to any element aside from the sometimes-cold of the Shire, and the mountainous terrain, had more trouble keeping up.

The snow had gotten toalmost chest deep, and at the moment, the fellowship struggled through a blinding blizzard.

Sakura had long since hopped down into the passage that Boromir and Aragorn had cleared, as staying above only made her more susceptible to the howling wind. Her last time in Middle Earth may as well have been a vacation to the Kirigakure shoreline for all the struggling she had to do then.

_Ninja aren't made for such slow, grueling travel. _Sakura surmised to herself unhealthy.

It was hard to concentrate, when all she could think of was that if this had been her, Neji and Naruto, they'd have crossed this Mountain days ago, and could have weathered through the storm so easily. The most aggravating part, however, was knowing there was very little she could do in this scenario.

Legolas paused in leading the group, turning around with burning anxiety. "There is a fell voice in the air!"

Gandalf looked up then. "It's Saruman."

Saruman's voice grew louder with the whipping wind, until it grew to such a deafening degree that rocks split above them and the rock and shale fell from above them.

The company threw themselves under the shelter of a thawed out cliff, and Sakura was pressed into the wall, holding Pippin in front of her protectively. "He's trying to bring down the mountain." Aragorn cried urgently. "Gandalf! We must turn back!"

The prospect, to Gandalf, seemed much worse then weathering out the elements, his eyes grave and wide. "No!"

The old wizard pushed himself away from the wall, raising his staff. _"Losto Caradharas, sedho, hodo, nuitho I ruith."_

Whatever Gandalf said seemed to irritate the mountain more, as the maelstrom grew to such a degree that the voice of Saruman rolled past the Fellowship like thunder. A crack of lighting split apart the mountain, and snow tumbled down the side they were travelling over, an avalanche passing above them. Aragorn shielded Frodo and Sam as snow piled around them.

Within moments, Sakura had blearily opened her eyes to find the pass completely blocked off to them, and the entire company was enveloped in blinding, icy snow. Boromir and Aragorn frantically dug out Merry, Frodo, and Sam, shivering and fearful. Pippin clung to her side. Sakura turned to Aragorn worriedly, and he met her gaze, looking just as anxious.

Boromir turned to them. "We must get off the mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the West road to my city."

Aragorn frowned at him. "The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard."

"If we cannot pass over the mountain, then let us go under it. Let us go through the mines of Moria!" Said Gimli, who had successfully plunged out of the snow.

Gandalf looked like he was about to disagree, concern etched into the deep lines of his face. Finally he sighed. "Let the ringbearer decide."

All eyes turned to Frodo, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere then here on this snowy mountain, feet and appendages numb and turning near blue, having to make this decision. He gulped.

"Frodo?"

The hobbit turned to look at Gandalf.

"We will go through the mines."

Gandalf looked like he'd at least expected that answer, and nodded slowly, almost resignedly. "So be it."

.

.

.

Sakura didn't like the sound of going underground, down a craggy mining shaft which could possibly go on for eternity, as it sounded when Gimli continued to ramble on about it. He spoke of long caverns that looked like the reached the sky, of a hollow mountain that the dwarves had mercilessly plowed out, up, down, to the point that the whole thing had been chiseled by their hammers. She had to admit, the way he told it sounded beautiful, full of merry dwarves like in Snow White, hammering away in their stone halls full of food and gold.

But she took one look at Gandalf's face, which was stony and considerably less pleased then it should be if one was to take Gimli's word for it, and immediately felt less enthused about going into the mines.

The fellwship walked along the far shore of a dark lake, the stony beach crunched beneath their feet, and to their opposite were great looming cliffs, making for a small passage.

Gimli trudged along some ways in front of her, coming to a halt as he breathed in awe. "The walls of Moria!"

The footing was treacherous on the narrow strip of green and greasy stones, but Gandalf continued onwards nonetheless, until he stopped beneath the very gates themselves. A door closed off the entrance, looking like it hadn't been used in quite some time. The old wizard touched the smooth rock wall between the trees, and slowly faint lines appeared like slender veins of luminous silver running through the stone.

"_Itidin…_ it mirrors only starlight and moonlight."

As if coming to the wizard's aid, a large moon rose over the mountains, and the lines grew broader and clearer, the symbols of ancient letters forming a glowing arch, interlacing. Sakura hadn't the slightest what it said, but it was beautiful, almost in a melancholic way.

Gandalf hummed thoughtfully. "It reads, 'The door of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter."

Merry tilted his head. "What do you suppose that means?"

"It's quite simple." Said the wizard confidently. "If you are a friend, speak the password and the doors will open."

He raised his arms, incating, "_Annon edhellen, edro hi amen!"_

Still, the cliffs tower into the night, the wind whips across at them, and Frodo shivers. The door stands fast. Nothing appears to have happened, and the Fellowship loses rapt interest after a while, spreading out around the narrow bank as Gandalf continued to mumble spells in his efforts to open the door. Sam picked at the pots and pans at his feet, watching sadly as Aragorn unsaddles Bill the Pony.

"Mines are no place for a pony, even one so brave as Bill." He told the hobbit, petting the mane of the faithful old pony.

Sam watched it mournfully. "Bye, Bill."

"Go on Bill," Aragorn gave the pony a tap." Go on. Don't worry, Sam, he knows his way home."

Legolas was seated next to Sakura, who had folded herself neatly against the wall of the cliff. Once again, she was quite helpless to their task. She hadn't been very useful as of yet, as they'd yet to encounter anything that they could fight, and if they did, Aragorn took care of it easily. The ninja looked quite small and had a disturbed look on her face, and once again, the elf wondered what she was thinking.

"Are you worried for the mines?" He asked her as he sat.

She gave him a side long glance, before slowly shaking her head. "Gimli makes them sound like their full of gold and good food… but Gandalf—he looks like he'd rather face the snow pass then this."

Legolas agreed. "Personally, I trust the wizard. While the dwarf means well… he does not come from Moria, and has only heard tales of it. Gandalf, I hear, has been through it. If he is not too keen to return… well, I feel I wouldn't want to either."

_Personally, _Sakura hadn't listened to a word he'd said, and instead, was caught up in his watery eyes like a complete fool, and shook her head out of her daze as he watched her curiously, obviously expecting some sort of response. "Oh… uh…yeah."

"Are you well?" His curiosity turned to worry. "You look flushed."

It was the hormones.

It was, one hundred percent, the hormones. She wouldn't be this interested in him if she wasn't carrying his baby/completely absolutely pregnant-whack.

Lucky for her, although perhaps not lucky for the company, Merry and Pippin broke the silence before she had a chance to respond, chucking rocks morosely in their boredom, obviously deriving enjoyment from watching the water dance as the rock broke the surface. Aragorn, however, did not, and pulled Pippin's arm before he could throw another stone.

His voice was ominous. "Do not disturb the water."

He exchanged a worrisome glance with Boromir, who's expression grew into something akin to Aragorn's anxiety. Sakura sat upright as she felt something beneath her feet… something stirring, causing vibrations to quake among the slippery rocks they stood on. Aragorn's hand clutched the hilt of his sword.

Gandalf sighed as he sat down beside Frodo, looking quite despaired. He hadn't been able to come up with any sort of code, and it was now well into the night.

The young hobbit blinked up at the elvish inscription, before braking into a smile of comprehension.

"It's a riddle." He whispered quietly to Gandalf.

Bemused, and a little skeptical that the young hobbit could have possibly figured something out, which he could not, the wizard raised his brows.

"Speak, friend, and enter." Began Frodo in his explanation. "What's the Elvish word for friend?"

Gandalf's eyes widened in realization. "Oh… _mellon._"

At that, the rock face silently slid apart in the middle and two great doors swung outwards. Merry cheered, and Sakura peered inside. The maw of the abyss peered back at her, darker than the night, with a blackness her eyes could not perceive. The fellowship gathered behind them, tentatively taking the first steps into the darkness. It was a dark, dank cavern with winding steps leading deeper into the mountain. Sakura shivered. It felt… hollow.

She hadn't meant to, but it was subconscious; the overpowering reek of dusting bodies, long since forgotten and molding away amongst the stonework, such a putrid, terrifying smell that stung so sharply against the back of her nose she reached for Legolas' arm, gripping it like a vice. The smell was vile—which meant much, considering that she worked in the business of dead bodies and even then she'd never smelt anything do decaying.

The most embarrassing part was when he carefully put a hand over hers, rubbing it soothingly.

"So, master elf," The dwarf adressed the elf, who was paying little or no attention to him at all, "you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves; roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin, Balin." He snorted mid rant. "And they call this mine… a mine!"

A glow from Gandalf's staff suddenly lit the chamber.

Ah, so that's where it was coming from.

The group had been strolling through a mass grave of dwarves, nothing left of them but their brittle skeletons and stiff, long beards. Sakura would have found this amusing, had she not been more concerned over the fact they were continuing into this dangerous passage.

Boromir sucked in a breath. "This is no mine." Said the Gongorian grimly. "It is a tomb!"

Gimli flew to one of the corpses in shock. "Oh no, no…no… !"

Legolas stepped over them gracefully, pulling an arrow out of a skeleton. It was crude, and looked as if it had been made from a creature without much skill. "Goblins!" He hissed aloud.

The company drew back, towards the entrance warily.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan." Boromir repeated his words from before, shaking his head. "We should never have come here."

Frodo yelped suddenly as he was pulled to the ground, skidding backwards. Sakura spun around to see a long sinuous tentacle wrapped around Frodo's ankle, dragging the struggling hobbit into the dark murky waters. Frodo cries out as she rushed forward, severing the tentacle and pushing him out of the way. The hobbit rolled to the side, and Boromir charged past her and hacked away at the other writhing limbs.

The tentacles spread out of the lake, rolling across the surface like waves and taking to the air. The dark water boiled as the hideous beast lashed out at the fellowship, who wouldn't be taken down so easily.

Sakura took care of them easily, dodging and flipping around Legolas' arrows, putting her water-walking to good use as she leapt onto the surface and made quick work of the tentacles, Aragorn and Boromir beside her.

"Watch out—!" But Frodo's voice was too late, as one had slid beneath her in the dark water and ripped her backwards, pushing her up into the air.

Aragorn cried out as she dangled, but she used the leverage to hack at it with her katana, flipping back onto the water and leaping backwards back onto the rocky banks.

"Into the mines!" Gandalf yelled at them all, ushering Merry and Sam inside hastily.

"Legolas!" Boromir cried to the elf, who shot an arrow into the creature's head with precision, gaining a few vital seconds for Aragorn and Boromir as they raced out of the water. They joined Sakura on the bank and the three of them retreated into the Moria chamber as many coiling arms seized the large doors.

It was too dark to see very much, but a shattering echo tore through the dense silence of the mine as the creature ripped the doors away, rocks sliding down the cliff face and, within seconds, completely sealed the doorway shut.

The fellowship was thrown into pitch dark.

Sakura blinked it to it, before tentatively asking, "Do you want me to clear them for you? I can, if you want."

Gandalf shook his head, though the gesture was lost in the blackness. A faint light rose from his staff, and threw a disturbing shadow onto his withered face. "It would scarcely matter. The creature would be waiting for us. We have but one choice. We must face the long dark of Moria." His voice was ominous. "There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world."

Sakura didn't like the sound of that.

* * *

_hmmm? So, what do you think? To be honest, I'm wondering if I really want Legolas and Sakura together at the end. It seems obvious, but, well... I do like an angsty ending. _


	6. deeper than words

.

.

.

Ninja belonged in _trees, _dammit. Trees and sky and _freedom. _

There was no such freedom in the deep abyss of Moria, where tunnels thinned until the fellowship walked single file, bridges drew down into the center of the earth, and steep stairs crawled up the rock faces. They crossed precarious bridges above deep mine workings, and Sakura didn't know how the hobbits didn't lose their nerve. It didn't bother her particularly, as she used chakra to balance herself, but the short folk had never been past the Shire, and Sakura had to be impressed with them for their innate bravery.

Merry especially. He was brash and courageous, and reminded her so much of Naruto it made her smile.

"Quietly now." Gandalf called back to them. "It is a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence will go unnoticed."

Sakura took the implied notion that there were unspeakable creatures that resided in the depths of these mines. At the moment, she was conjuring a vast image of some sort of Kyuubi-like monster, or, at least what she saw of Kyuubi whenever it came out of Naruto. There weren't too many kinds of demons and creatures in the hidden nations as there were here. To be honest, Sakura thought she under estimated Middle Earth a bit.

Moria was disturbingly beautiful, in a morbid way. There was something almost artistic in its stonework perfection, of the stairs that climbed up near vertical on the rock face. Even the creatures and great obstacles they encountered were surprising to her. Considering the way the people of Middle Earth fought, with armies lined against one another in an almost barbaric fashion, Sakura had assumed the enemies here resembled their fighting style—slow and dimwitted.

Maybe she'd reconsider.

They continued up steep stairs, passing through a dwarf cemetery. Pippin was watching her as she scaled up the stairs vertically, leaping and jumping as if gravity had no hold on her, moving so silently it was as if she wasn't there at all.

"How does she do that?" He whispered to Merry, as Sakura flipped back down to them, picking up Frodo before jumping back up. "Noiseless, too. Think its magic?"

"Probably." Answered Merry, looking like was more concerned over his footing then Sakura's magic feet. "She's some sort of warrior goddess, I reckon. Makes you wonder what all the other people from their land are like."

Pippin hummed.

This had been a subject which Legolas had been mulling about as well, though he did not voice it.

Here they were, in the dank silence of one of the must dangerous places in Middle Earth, and all he could think about was the 'warrior goddess' currently leaping around the rock face.

What were her people like? She knew, at least to some degree, about his own, yet the few facts she disclosed of her own were so few and far between that Legolas scarcely remembered them. He was well aware of the leagues of sea, sky, and people which separated them—yet this didn't stop his thoughts from lingering on her, from his eyes straying to her lithe form.

The company came to a screeching halt at the fork of three hallways, waiting for Gandalf to make a decision.

"I have no memory of this place." Said the old wizard remorsefully, staring into the passages as if their darkened depths may hold his answer.

Sakura made herself comfortable on the rock face, recuperating her chakra with an energy bar. She'd given some to Sam, who looked hungry, but he'd almost immediately spat it out. He claimed it tasted like mud mixed with charcoal. Sakura insisted that it was all herbal and was just simply so packed with energy it lacked any substantial taste. She patted the pouches lining her belts, pleased to find she still had quite a bit of equipment. Most techniques ninja employed didn't need anything aside from a bit of blood and ten fingers, so her packs were full of nourishing—if not bland—bars, soldier pills and blood replenishing pills, and scrolls with her heavier items sealed inside them.

She realized with remorse she'd forgotten a mirror. She could certainly use one, as her bangs had grown to the point the fringe tickled her lashes, and even though she'd long since parted it to the side to get them out of her way better, it didn't seem to have helped much. She'd prefer not to slice her hair off with a kunai, feeling her way around the back of her head without a mirror, so it stayed long and curling against her shoulders.

Beside her, completely unaware of the young ninja's depressing thoughts on her lack of hygiene, Pippin sat near the edge of the cliff.

"Are we lost?" He whispered, quite ineffectively, to his fellow hobbit, as the rest of the fellowship could clearly hear him.

"No I don't think we are." Merry waved him off, careening over to where Gandalf had seated himself on a boulder. "Shh. Gandalf's thinking."

If Pippin had heard that last remark, he certainly didn't show it. "Merry!"

"What?" Scowled the hobbit.

"I'm hungry."

Quite obviously, Merry said nothing further.

Sakura would have made a comment on the foolish antics of the hobbit, had she been paying more attention. However, there was a slight movement among the rocks they had passed beneath them which had caught her eye. It was brief, and nothing but a gray streak in the edges of her vision. The kunoichi turned towards her companions, who each made no move to stop it, though surely they had seen the creature below them.

"Gollum!" Cried Frodo, as he had seen the same thing she had, but had voiced his concerns to Gandalf.

"He's been following us for three days." Nodded Gandalf, not looking particularly concerned over this.

"Ah—what's a Gollum, exactly?" Sakura spoke up, a tad nervous. There were still quite a handful of species that she was unaware of, this probably one of them. She could only hope it was less significant

"Smeagol, he was once called, Before the ring came to him," Gandalf sighed. "Before it drove him mad."

Sakura frowned, turning back to where she could see the creature's withered fingers, an emaciated, leering hunched form cowering behind the cave wall.

"He escaped the dungeons of Barad-dur?" Frodo questioned disbelievingly.

"Escaped…" Muttered Gandalf. "Or set loose. And now the Ring has drawn him here. He will never be rid of his need for it. He hates and loves the ring, as he hates and loves himself. Smeagol's life is a sad story."

Sakura caught the look of surprise on Frodo's face.

"It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance." Said Frodo, grimly. Sakura agreed.

"Pity?" Gandalf turned towards the hobbit with large, owlish eyes. "It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserved death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo?"

The boy had nothing to say to this, looking oddly perturbed at the very thought of such power.

Sakura wondered the same herself; how many times had she made that decision for someone else? It was in a Ninja's power to pass judgement and all those which his hand fells, yet the thought hardly every crossed Sakura's mind.

"Don't be too eager to deal out death in judgement." Were Gandalf's words of wisdom. "Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many."

Sakura supposed she should listen to Gandalf's words of wisdom more often, for they made a very great deal of sense indeed.

"I wish the ring had never come to me." Murmured the hobbit who sat beside the withered looking wizard, feet unable to touch the ground from the boulder and hands gripping his knees. "I wish none of this had happened."

"So do all who live to see such times," Agreed the wise Wizard. "But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." There was a note of finality to his voice.

"There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring. In which case, you also were meant to have it… and that is an encouraging thought—"The wizard stopped, with a sudden brightness to his smiling visage. "Ah! That's the way!" As if he had a sudden recollection, the old man pointed towards the right hand tunnel, and the fellowship scrambled to their fet.

Merry's relief was evident. "He's remembered!" Cried the hobbit, as if he had just finished his second breakfast and realized he had enough room for a third.

"No," Said Gandalf, to Merry's shock. "But the air doesn't smell so foul down there."

And then, with an irritable amount of cheer. "If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose!"

With that, he continued into the dark maw of the abyss, laughing all the way.

Sakura followed with the rest of the bewildered fellowship, hers mainly due to the fact that Gandalf sounded uncannily like Kiba—and that wasn't a very good thing at all.

.

.

It was in the cloying darkness of Moria that Sakura found Legolas on top of her, in a compromising position she'd found herself in before, lips meeting hers in such a gentle manner she was almost taken aback.

They'd set up camp about an hour ago, everyone restless and a little cabin-feverish in this dark sunless world made of stone. Even Gimli, who was in his natural element, looked haggard and alert. It didn't take much for, one by one, the fellowship to descend into jagged, dreamless sleep. Everyone but the two of them.

He'd taken her a bit by surprise, mainly because she wasn't aware where, exactly, they matched up against each other. She had just assumed that it was uncommon for elves to have sex out of wedlock. _Uncommon_, not completely and absolutely absurd, as Legolas would have said, had he not been trying to make it sound less complicated then it actually was whilst relaying it to her. In fact, he didn't know of very many who did, especially with someone who wasn't also an elf.

There was hardly any point worrying about that now, though, Legolas thought. He'd been dreaming about this moment, and at one point, using every waking moment to think about it, and while he really should be explaining to her about elven mates, he'd gotten a bit distracted.

Meanwhile, Sakura was having an entirely different debate.

_This isn't just sex to him. _She reminded herself. _He's got real feelings behind this—real emotion besides just feeling lonely and a bit horny. _

It was a bit of a jab to herself, but she knew she couldn't let herself get away without some of the blame. It wasn't like she was pushing him away.

Though she knew she should.

They had differing goals out of this. Sakura wasn't sure of Legolas', but she knew they were hardly resembling her own. She'd wanted nothing but the attention he gave her, the warm body to feed her loneliness and the pleasure of reaching ecstasy the first time, and the second time it'd hardly changed. The elf, from what Aragorn had revealed, most likely had only the purest intentions at heart. Pure, and… full of love.

Sakura pulled away from the kiss abruptly, arms unwinding from his hair to fall down his arms.

"Legolas…" She whispered, in guilt and remorse and all these shittastic feelings she wished she'd never learnt so intimately. "We can't—

His lips skimmed hers, and she couldn't help but meet them—just a bit!—reluctantly attempting to wiggle away from him. She was careful for all the even breathing around them of their companions, especially for Aragorn, the ranger who awoke to even the most silent of noises.

"I just want to hold you…" He breathed into her neck. "It feels as if forever has passed since I held you last."

"Oh…" Really, what could she say to that? And privately, she'd admit that she felt a little better in someone else's arms. "Okay then…"

Though he did quite less of holding and more of turning her on in inappropriate places. Like a mine shaft infiltrated with dangerous orcs and god knew what else. Not that Sakura was caring particularly, as his hands splayed over her hips almost protectively and their lips met again.

Really… how could she deny herself the pleasure of perusing his body once more? Jesus, if it wasn't the most amazing one she'd ever held before. The amount of ripped six-packed ninja she'd treated on the battlefield, their bloodied sculpted chests open for her eye orgasms, couldn't even compare. He wasn't grossly over-muscled, like what Kiba was quickly turning into, and he certainly wasn't… well, unendowed. He was very, very endowed. In… every possible sense of the word.

Sakura wished her mind wouldn't wander so much, because her back was already arched into Legolas' hands, which moved to drive her crazy in tandem, and her outrageous preggo hormones were going _oh fuck yeah_ but her mind was going flatline and Legolas, well, Legolas was nuzzling her cheek affectionately and his judicious petting had yet to go anywhere below the belt.

"Sakura…" He sighed her name like one of those beautiful serenades the elves sang, and she melted in a daze of happiness.

"Hmm?"

"I can't help but find myself feeling guilty…" Their lips met, before he moved to suck at her neck. Well, that made two of them. "For had Frodo not found the ring… had the threat not been there, you would have never been called back to me."

Sakura's eyes fluttered open in a flood of what could only be called absolute unadulterated shame.

"Legolas—" She began thickly. "I—"

"You don't have to say anything, it's trite, I know." He added, smiling sheepishly into her neck. Before moving to get up. "Though I admit… I _had_ only wanted to hold you in my arms. But, we should probably—

She blinked, sitting up, clothing rumpled in, if Middle Earth had a lighting system to be turned on immediately, would have been in quite a compromising position. "Wha?"

Her leg brushed between his as she moved, and then. Oh. _Oh. _

"Stop now." He ended, giving her a soft, dulcet kiss with an equally soft smile before he rolled off of her to her side, wrapping an arm around her.

She blinked into the darkness, in nothing short of a dazed surprise.

Here was a guy who had shamelessly stopped, in the middle of _getting some, _because he actually had… good intetions? Wanted to do it the right way? Somewhere other then a mine floor—which she had been perfectly okay with—with a lot of candles and a bed and the whole works?

Oh, she could hear Ino now. Sakura, you are _such _a bitch.

She lay there, still undoubtedly turned on, a certain elf's arm hooked loosely around her stomach, making her flush at the thought that, yes, right now, father and baby were having an intimate moment that neither were aware of, and here she was keeping both of them in the dark.

It'd been a long time since she'd woken up next to the surrounding warmth of another person, and, big surprise, it was the same person she had before.

The kunoichi shot up, soundless, and moved across the way, looking decidedly guilty.

_Well_, she supplied bitterly to herself, _at least you know someone out there loves you._

This thought, which, prior to her time in Middle Earth, would have made her giddy. As long as it wasn't Rock Lee, anyone without sentient eyebrows was fair game. (well, that wasn't fair to the kid. He was a sweet guy, just… a bit unnerving…) And as far as the attractive men in the world, Legolas could possibly even spearhead the league. But he was an elf.

Elves belonged with each other. The same way ninja belonged with ninja. The nations belonged, as the people of Middle Earth belonged. They were separated by what seemed like _everything. _His culture, which, apparently in retrospect, she knew _nothing_ about. Her culture, which he wasn't even aware of besides its bare minimums. Her life as a mercenary assassin under the Godaime Hokage? Yeah, that too.

Shouldn't she be happy that the father of her growing child had some sort of feelings of her? If so, why did it just hurt like shit instead?

By the time Legolas had awoke she'd moved away from him completely and was opposite the small room talking quietly with Aragorn. She caught the jolt of surprise on his face when he realized she wasn't next to him, and made her way over, hoping he wasn't feeling abandoned after last night… whatever it could be considered.

"You looked so peaceful asleep," She walked over to him, handing him that bread they were all so fond of with a small smile. "I didn't want to wake you."

He took it with a matching smile, though his was beatific and ten times wider. "Thank you."

The fellowship was moving quickly after that. They descended further in what Sakura hoped to be the right direction, for beneath her she could feel the rumble of thousands of scuttling, large feet. Orcs, most likely. They seemed to be mulling about amongst themselves and had yet to discover the fellowship wandering through their stone halls. She wasn't particularly worried over them, orcs were generally slow and stupid, and made for easy kills.

There was something else, though. Something deep that her seeping chakra couldn't quite pick up.

They passed under an arched doorway, leading into a vast empty space. Sakura sucked in a breath, her toes already telling her what lay ahead.

"Let me risk a little more light…" Gandalf murmured, tapping his life for a brief moment of light. It blazes like a silent flash of lightning, and the great shadows that covered their vision retreated into the corners, revealing a large domed roof far above them, and an enormous stone hall of which Sakura had never seen before.

"Behold!" He held out his staff. "The great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf!"

The hall was empty and as polished and smooth as glass, a dark obsidian which glimmered with the light of Gandalf's staff. The rood was upheld by many mighty pillars hewn of stone, looking endless.

Sam tutted. "Well, there's an eye opener and no mistake!"

Opposite of them was a wooden door that had been smashed in two. Black arrows were embedded in the timbers, and two goblin skeletons lay in the doorway. Gimli rushed ahead.

"Gimli!" Gandalf called, but Gimli had already rushed into another vast and equally empty chamber.

There was a narrow sliver of sunlight, beaming in from a small opening near the roof. Dwarf and goblin skeletons were piled around the room, and in the far corner was a stone walled well. The shaft of light ended directly on a stone table in the middle of the room, where a single oblong block rested, topped with a great white slab of stone. Gimli fell to his knees before it.

"No… no… oh, no!"

Sakura blinked at the whole scene, unsure of what to make of it. Gandalf quietly passed the sobbing dwarf, holding up the white slab, which was inscribed with runes that, as usual, Sakura couldn't understand.

"Here lies Balin, son of Fudin, Lord of Moria.' He is dead, then." Gandalf had a troubled expression. "It's as I had feared."

Gandalf was careful to lift a rotting book from the white stone slab. It was tattered and had certainly scene better days, and it cracked with dried blood as he split the spine.

The hobbits looked just as unsure as Sakura was, though Pippin had taken to exploring the room with a certain amount of curiosity. It seems even in the most dangerous of places the hobbit's natural interest in everything seemed to overcome all else.

Beside her, Legolas turned to Aragorn. "We must move on," He whispered urgently, eyes moving towards the door. "We cannot linger."

Aragorn nodded. "I agree, mellon-nin." He turned to Gandalf. "Gandalf!"

Though the old wizard was not listening, reading quietly aloud. "They have taken the Bridge and the second hall; we have barred the gates… but cannot hold them for long…"

"They haven't discovered us yet." Sakura spoke, causing Legolas and Aragorn to once more remember she was there. "They seem to be… engaged in their own interests."

Aragorn raised a skeptical brow. "How can you be aware of this?"

"I can feel them." She answered, truthfully, unsure of how to explain to them she was sending small waves of chakra to probe beneath them through her feet.

A clang echoed deathly loud in the chamber, and all eyes immediately zoomed onto Pippin, who was staring back with a frightened look. Beneath him, a chain began to slither into the well, making an enormous racket as it did so. There was a moment of silence, before whatever had fallen in reached it's final destination with an even louder, ominous bang.

"Well," Sakura began with false cheer. "They certainly know now."

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf rounded angrily at the small hobbit. "Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!"

They fall into an uneasy silence, and Sakura can feel the sudden gleeful shift beneath them as the orcs realize they are not alone. A low rolling boom rises from the depths below, growing louder steadily, as if the caverns of Moria were turned into a vast drum.

Sakura drew her katana slowly, feeling the ground shake beneath her.

Sam worriedly looked to Frodo. "Mr. Frodo… you're—

Frodo looked down to the cold blue glow emanating from his sword's scabbard. He drew it to reveal a glow to the blade that hadn't been there before.

"Orcs!" Legolas hissed, and Sakura remembered his elven superior hearing (goddammit, why couldn't she have been born with cool things like that?)

Aragorn turned to the hobbits. "Get back! Stay close to Gandalf."

He rushed over to the doors with Boromir, the two of them slamming them shut and wedging the doors with a piece of wood. Boromir seemed to catch sight of something, turning to Aragorn with shock in his eyes.

"They have a cave troll!"

Sakura gaped. "A _what_?" And she thought she actually _knew _most of the beings in Middle Earth. She was quite wrong.

Gimli seemed rather unfazed, snatching up two rusty dwarf axes and leaping onto the tomb, yelling as he did so. "Let them come!" He battle cried. "There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!"

The fellowship descended into battle, and Sakura found her rhythm easily enough. She jumped around Legolas' arrows and past Aragorn and Boromir wading through the mass of goblins with their swords. They flooded the entire room like a three-foot army, except for the cave troll, which towered above them all.

Sakura didn't waste any time, hands flying into a jutsu.

She slammed her palms into the ground. "_Doton: Doryuu Kekai!_"

Boromir yelped in surprise as Sakura hauled him closer to her, the ground where he once stood splitting in two with a massive crack and dropping a great many orcs into the abyss beneath them. He stared wide-eyed at the crying creatures as they fell, before his eyes strayed to Sakura.

"What—" He sputtered, moving away from her. "What kind of demon magic is this? !"

Sakura made a vague noise of irritation, but didn't bother to answer him. She ran up the side of the wall and leapt onto the ceiling where the cave troll was lumbering beneath, slamming her chakra-powered fist into the stone and causing a portion of the ceiling to fall onto the troll.

She leapt back onto the ground, surveying the damage. The troll was buried mostly in rubble, but the dust was blocking her view of it, and she couldn't tell whether it was down for the count or still had a bit of life to it.

"Sakura—watch out!"

She missed the goblin running towards her, grabbing a kunai to stab it when Sam descended upon it, with a _frying pan._ The poor hobbit looked so utterly confused as it keeled over, she almost laughed at the redhead, who looked forlornly at the frying pan in his hand.

"Good job, Sam!" She congratulated, giving him a pat on the back. "That's ingenuity for you."

The hobbit wasted no time walloping another goblin, sending it to the ground. He blinked, before smiling at Sakura with a laugh. "I think I'm getting the hang of this!"

The ground shook beneath them as the cave troll slowly unearthed itself with a enraged cry. They didn't have much time to watch its rebirth, however, as another crowd of goblins flittered past the unearthing troll.

"Aragorn! Aragorn!"

Sakura looked back up from the fray, to see the cave troll standing at its full height, looking mostly undamaged by what could have been three tons of stone crashing on tom of it, Frodo lifted off his feet by the spear tip. Sam screamed as he was slammed against the wall.

"Frodo!" Aragorn yelled in shock.

Sam slashed blindly at the troll in rage, slicing through it's knee and bringing it down. Merry and Pippin jumped on it like some rabid Inuzuka dogs. And Sakura watched with surprise as Legolas easily jumped onto the troll's hunkering shoulder as it flayed about, keeping his balance excellently and poising an arrow right into it's skull, before jumping down with equal grace.

Aragorn was already on his knees next to Frodo's limp form, and the rest of the fellowship joined him quickly, looking down at the pale face of the hobbit with devastation.

Legolas turned to Frodo, before he looked back at Sakura. She could have cut whatever it was between them with a kunai it was so palpable, and she swallowed thickly as he opened his mouth—

And then; a loud, enormous pop.

There was a brief, startled moment of silence as every being in the cavern seemed to stare uncomprehendingly at the enormous orange toad emerging from ninja smoke that stood just beneath Sakura's chin on its hind legs.

Whatever Legolas was going to say was lost as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open and the rest of the fellowship turned at the noise to see a gigantic frog wearing a vest.

And then, it _spoke. _

"Yo!"

Sakura blinked, flabbergasted. She didn't even bother to pull her sword out of an orc. "G—Gamakichi? !"

Suddenly Frodo coughed, taking in a wet, gasping breath.

"He's alive!" Sam cried in relief.

"I'm alright." Frodo protested weakly. "I'm not hurt."

Aragorn appraised him with disbelief. "You should be dead. That spear would've skewered a wild boar!"

Gandalf made his way over, a twinkle in his eye. "I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye." He said with mirth.

Frodo opened his shirt slowly to reveal a sparkling chainmail that Sakura had never quite seen before. It was almost whitish in coloring and glimmered like diamonds. "Mithril!" Gimli gasped in shock. "Why, you are full of surprises, Master Baggins."

"Eh?" Gamakichi hopped over, much to the surprise of the fellowship, who all turned to him with wide unbelieving eyes. "Who is this little kid?"

"That's Frodo." Sakura made her way over, addressing the frog patiently. "He's the boy I'm meant to guard."

Gamakichi snorted. "Good job doing that, huh?"

Sakura gave him a narrowed eyed look. "Shut your mouth, you stupid toad." Gamakichi squawked in surprise. She wasn't normally so rude to Naruto's summons—though they did freak her out and she was certainly not a fan of any sort of slimy amphibian—but he had certainly hit the mark with that one. "And where's Naruto? Why are you even here?"

"What sort of witch are you?" Boromir cut in with a crazed look, waving his sword at her. "Opening the ground, summoning large monsters—

"Hey!" Gamakichi cried in protest. "I'm a _toad_—

"You have some explaining to do." The Gondorian ended dangerously.

"She needs not explain a thing." Gandalf cut in with a smile. Sakura wondered if he ever _stopped _smiling. "She's a valuable asset and I have it on good account that she's only here for our good. It, logically then, doesn't matter _what _she is."

Sakura only blushed, scuffing the dirt with her feet.

She waved vaguely to the enormous toad beside her. "This is, uh, Gamakichi." The toad waved, sending the entire group into fresh shock. "He's, well, he's I guess you could say the pet of a friend of mine."

"Summon!" The toad corrected hotly.

"Summon." Sakura amended.

"Though Gandalf is right; your secrets are your own," Aragorn began, watching the toad tentatively. "I think we'd all appreciate a further explanation. There are quite… unusual circumstances that surround you."

Sakura rubbed her chin. "Um, well, there are some ninja who have pacts with tribes of animals. My friend, Naruto, has a pact with toads." She patted Gamakichi for good measure. "This is one of his toads; his name is Gamakichi."

"Nice to meetcha!" Said the toad good naturedly. _Thank god. _He wasn't being his typical smart-aleck self.

"Gamakichi, these are my travelling companions," She motioned to the startled fellowship. They made no motion to say hello, as most of them were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that toads could talk. And grow to such an enormous size. "Is there a reason you're here?" She asked experimentally.

"Oh, that's right." Gamakichi reached back into his pack, before handing a scroll to Sakura. "This is from Naruto. He says he'll be here soon."

She took it tentatively, wondering what could possibly be inside. Her stomach filled with dread. Had Neji not kept his promise? Had he told Naruto? She placed it shakily in her pack, making to question the toad more when the ground shook again.

Gandalf stood suddenly as a dull beat began to resound in his ears.

Gamakichi looked around awkwardly. "Uh—well, it seems like you guys are in the middle of something. I think I'll take my leave now!" He ended hurriedly, disappearing in a clout of smoke.

Sakura gritted her teeth. If only _she _could just leave in a puff of smoke. Her life would be so much easier.

"Hurry!" He pushed the hobbits in front of him. "We must make for the bridge of Khazad-dum!"

.


	7. the updater

_Finally an update! Sorry for the wait._

* * *

Gandalf _couldn't _be dead. It was simply impossible.

Though the thought sounded very lame even to her own head. He'd fallen off a cliff. He was also a terribly old man. And though he was a wizard, Sakura doubted someone could even survive a fall like that—not even her, if she hadn't dropped onto a wall and clung there for dear life. And even on the slim chance Gandalf could do the same… what of that terrible beast? That horrifying creature lumbering like an enormous monster of fire…

Sure, the fourth Hokage had slain something similar.

But at the cost of his life.

But Gandalf's parting words continued to ring in her head; like a riddle she couldn't solve.

"_You shouldn't worry about me, dear girl,"_ He had smiled, face wet with perspiration and determination. But his eyes were twinkling, even though his hand was slipping out of hers. _"We'll meet again soon, surely."_

And he'd let go, _he'd let go, _even as she cried for him not to, and held herself with impeccable strength to the wall. What had he meant by that, she wondered? False words to console her—some sort of warped middle earth perception of the after life? It didn't really console her at all, just confused her.

And worst of all, the fellowship was now without a leader.

However, Aragorn held the mantle quite aptly, taking it upon himself to hedge the rest of the fellowship out of the terrifying darkness of Moria, and out into the grayscale sunshine of middle earth.

It was a dim, cloudy day, though days in the unending darkness made the afternoon seem bright. There was no rest in Aragorn's agenda, which suited Sakura just fine, but perhaps not the hobbits. He scoured ahead of the company, as they stumbled in the burning light of the rocky dimrill dale hillside. There was no foliage, but plenty of flat rocks, which lumbered into a terrain of steep jumps and winding paths.

The rest of the fellowship looked numb in muted horror, Frodo stumbling in what could have been devastation.

In the distance, Sakura spied a faint, almost ephemeral shimmer to a glowing forest… it almost reminded her of Mirkwood.

"Lothlorien.." Legolas breathed.

Aragorn nodded. "We have reached the realm of the elves." A few ways ahead of them, he beckoned them with his hand. "Come, we must cross before nightfall."

And they went on, running across a forest floor strewn with yellow flowers. The canopy of them sparkled golden, held up by silvery pillars, the trunks of huge, grey trees. It looked deathly beautiful, if not a bit haunting. Sakura walked with her head to the sky, in awe of such enormous trees. Perhaps as big as the ones in Konoha, if not bigger. And such a strange, silvery coloring.

"Stay close, young hobbits." Gimli warned, as Pippin eyed a yellow flower curiously. "They say a Sorceress lives in these woods. An elf-witch of terrible power. All who look upon her fall under her spell…"

Sakura shivered involuntarily, as if a chill had passed through her.

Meanwhile, Frodo hesitated, gazing blankly ahead.

"And are never seen again!" Ended Gimli with breathless daunting.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam shook Frodo's elbow concernedly, abruptly pulling the smaller hobbit out of his daze.

Meanwhile, Gimli didn't seem to have noticed at all. "Well," He snorted. "Here's one dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I've the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!"

"I don't doubt it." Sakura smiled amusedly at the dwarf, who clearly didn't hear her sarcasm.

Though perhaps he didn't need to, as it became clear enough as a small brigade of elves dropped silently from the trees, armed with bows taught. The fellowship leapt in shock, though none were prepared for the attack and were caught off guard by the sharp, lethal arrows aimed so steadily towards them.

Sakura could have cursed herself for not hearing them sooner—compared to the rest of the creatures of middle earth, elves were deadly silent. She'd gotten complacent with that knowledge.

"The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark." Sneered one, presumably the leader, with disdain.

Aragorn held his hands up, moving around the surrounded group to face the leader. He spoke quietly in elfish, and though Sakura knew enough of the language to tell what it sounded like, she certainly hadn't a clue what they were saying.

"Aragorn!" Nether did Gimli, though it didn't stop him. These woods are perilous. We should go back." He advised.

Haldir frowned at him. "You have entered the realm of the Lady of the Wood. You cannot go back."

His piercing light eyes held Frodo's. "Come, she is waiting." He intoned, eyes never once leaving the small hobbits.

Abruptly, he broke contact, leading the wary fellowship onto a hilltop. Sakura let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. It was _gorgeous. _She'd never seen such an impressive work of civilization melded so perfectly into nature. The tallest trees in the forest gave way to a beautiful city nestled high in the crown of the silver mallorn trees. It gleamed in the low rays of the late afternoon, tinged gold with the sun.

"Is this Lothlorien?" Sakura whispered to Aragorn, who stood to her left.

He nodded, eyes lingering on the beautiful sight as well. "To the east of Caras Galadhon, the woods of Lorien run down the pale gleam of Anduin, the great river. Beyond the river, the land is flat and empty, formless and vague, until far away, it rises again like a dark and dreary wall. The sun that lies on Lothlorien has not power to enlighten the shadows that lie beyond."

Like the woods, and the city itself, the burning, pernicious undertone to his voice was daunting indeed.

.

.

.

It was just as lavish and palatial on the inside as it was on the outside. And while mighty lovely, Sakura thought it all a bit… unnecessary. Though she was quickly learning that elves favored their worlds luxurious and fixatingly beautiful as much as they favored things simple and beautiful. Undeniably they were hung up on the whole 'pleasing the eye' thing. Sakura couldn't blame them, though, not when it fit in so well with their own looks.

And Legolas fit right in with the rest of the other worldly looking creatures, though there was certainly something more handsome and wholly to him then the regally imperious, distant looking elves of Lorien. Certainly more character to him, too. Sakura felt that she had morally had to defend him against her interpretation of the rest of his species, considering she'd slept with him.

Speaking of the elves of Lorien, King Celeborn and Queen Galadriel were no different. There was an insurmountable distance to them, an imperviousness to fault that somehow rubbed Sakura the wrong way. She noticed that a lot of the elves were like that, very dainty, with stone-like perfect features carved from marble.

Celeborn turned to Aragorn. "Nine there are, yet ten there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him."

Frodo's eyes were drawn to Galadriel, standing silently beside Celeborn.

When no one answered, she answered herself. "… He has fallen into shadow." She said aloud, softly. The blonde elf looked to Aragorn. "The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the company is true."

What was it about Aragorn? Sakura mused quietly to herself. Everyone seemed to… look to him for guidance. When Gandalf fell, it was him who took the mantle. Even when the old wizard was around, Aragorn was his companion and confidant. And now, these two royal elves were placing the blame entirely on him—why?

"Don not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest for you are weary with sorrow and much toil." Those piercing, ghost like eyes focused once more on Frodo, holding the hobbits with rapture. "Tonight you will sleep in peace."

And with that, she turned away, leaving the hobbit beside Sakura blinking around in shock, following her husband into the distant light.

While the rest of the fellowship maundered about, clueless, unsure of what to do when there was no more danger in sight, Sakura found herself mulling about the majority of her problems that she'd been putting aside while preoccupied with survival. There was no den of orcs, or balrogs, to occupy her thoughts now, and she'd have to sort things out herself, if she wanted to stop worrying.

She had to come to some sort of decision.

And while Lothlorien was quite nice to look at, it was more distracting then helpful as she tried to sift through herself.

This quest was dangerous, and Galadriel was quite correct in assuming that one wrong turn would result in their entire realm falling apart. It was starting to make a little more sense to her—and a lot more of an impact. This wasn't just some recon mission, it wasn't slaying a few people for a scroll or two and then returning to her warm bed. This was the entire fate of the middle earth world resting on eight unprepared heroes.

And she was nothing but a sucker for a sob story.

"There's no pulling out now," Sakura mused sadly to herself, kicking a pebble as she went. It was in her nature to put others before herself, and it generally had served her well in the past.

But what about her kid? Or, as she likened to call it, mini legume? Should she put others in front of it, too?

She could have groaned for putting herself in this situation. In fact, she did. Aloud. Not to mention that she still hadn't found a way to broach the subject to Legolas. To be quite honest, she wasn't even sure she _wanted _to. What would he say? He'd be upset with her, surely. And he had ever right to be, for a variety of reasons. She was putting his kid in danger, for one. She hadn't told him, for two. She had known and was planning on never telling him—or seeing him, for that matter. And that wasn't even covering all the other plausible reasons. God forbid he'd get _mad _at her for troubling him like that.

She snorted at the thought.

Sakura could hear the chords of voices lulling through the trees, the elves singing into the darkened sky. Not for the first time, she wondered what they were singing. If only she'd bothered to learn elvish… it could have been useful.

Naruto would have gotten a kick out of it.

"Oh…" She blinked then. "That's right."

She fished through the inordinate amount of pockets she had, attempting to find the scroll Gamakichi had handed her. Sakura pretended not to notice as her breath caught and her fingers started to shake. Did she even want to read this? Surely she could just toss it out of this enormous tree fort and never have to deal with it—wasn't like elves could read the language anyway. She could only imagine the choice words Naruto would have for her. _Oh.. I hate you Neji… _She thought angrily to herself.

Naruto was sort of like everyone's moral compass—the guy somehow always knew right from wrong impeccably.

_Sakura-chan! _The letter started. Sakura breathed an audible sigh of relief. He wouldn't be addressing her as Sakura-chan if this was serious, right?

_Crazy things have been happening these last few weeks. Kakashi-sensei and I were coming back from a mission, and were going to Tsuande's office—when we saw… someone already talking to her. I don't really know how to say this, Sakura, and to be honest, I still can't really wrap my head around it. But Sasuke's back. I haven't actually talked to him, but he's trading information for a more lenient sentence. I have no idea what's going on, and I'm getting ready to leave as I right this, but… at least he's back, right? He'll be back when we get back, and then, we can all go out for ramen again!_

_See you soon! _

_Naruto_

Unbelievable.

Sakura snapped the scroll shut. How was this possible? Though her surprise wasn't ominous, as it had been for the past few weeks, but an almost giddy, pleased feeling. Sure, Sasuke was still kind of an ass, vindictive and a bit of a whiny bitch, but he was _theirs. _It was good to know that he'd be there, angry brooding bastard he was, when she got back.

She was so engulfed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the presence behind her.

"So he's dead, then."

Sakura jumped in fright, spinning around with her blade unsheathed, parrying it with another blade on instinct.

At first, she had thought it was an elf, from the soft long hair, and the pale face. But then she saw the colorless eyes, and had a near freakish meltdown of surprise.

Neji's pale eyes met hers. "And your quest continues to become even more dangerous." He continued.

"Fucking _Christ_!" She dropped her guard, clutching her heart. "The only one about to kill me is _you_! Scaring me is bad for my health."

"So is this journey." Neji agreed. "Need I remind you I warned you I'd pull you out at the slightest sign of danger?"

"That's terribly unfair." Sakura reasoned. "You're not even the commanding officer. And this isn't really _danger—_just a set back!"

"No." Neji inclined his head. "Naruto is. I wonder what he'd say when he hears of your…" There was a moment of deliberation. "Health infirmities."

"Infirmities." Sakura echoed with a scoff. "You forget I'm a medic-nin. If anyone knows when the time to stop is—it's me. I appreciate your concern, but I agreed to this mission on my own merit. I don't think it's any of your business, really—

"My business?" Neji's eyes stormed, and belatedly, Sakura wondered if she'd struck a chord. "No, it's not. Not when you intentionally endanger the mission, _and _yourself, clearly. And it's a danger to both—seeing as though at any time it could render you incapable and therefore jeopardize everything we've worked for, even your precious alliance you value so much." He spat the last words. "Sakura, are you even _thinking _right now? There's a reason for health regulations in the first place. Sick ninja, or, unable ninja aren't allowed on active duty because they hurt themselves and those they work with. You're doing both, at the moment. Not to _mention _endangering _another _life which has yet to even have a say!"

She flinched.

So it was one of those 'fate' things. Dammit if she should know when she was stepping on a landmine by now.

Neji continued on. "Have you ever even considered that yet? This isn't about you, or the mission, or the team. Its' about _it, _too. Or do you just not care?"

Jeez, the thing wasn't even born yet and she was already shaping up to be a real shitty mother.

Sakura sighed, crossing her arms at the chill. She didn't even bother wondering how Neji had found her, anyway. The guy was probably everywhere. She wondered if she was even talking to the real Hyuuga, or just some Kage Bunshin. Probably the latter. The real Neji was most likely be in Minas Tirith right now, scouting it out, not yelling at her and generally making her feel like shit.

Neji sucked in a deep breath, rubbing his temples warily. "I hadn't come here with the intention to reprimand you." He began, quietly, seemingly subdued after his tirade. "I've come to warn."

Sakura's brows creased. "Of what?"

"There's an evil wizard—of the name Saruman." Neji's face fell back into shadow, as he readjusted his mask. The bird-like face stared back at her, emotionless. "To the West. His power grows daily, using those orc creatures to do his bidding."

God, he was already talking like a middle-earthian. Obviously her worries about him 'fitting in' were useless.

"He'll try to stop them, then?"

"Of course." Neji nodded imperceptibly. "At any rate, this realm is safe… for now. You'll be able to get proper rest here."

Sakura nodded mutely. Now he just sounded plain upset. She preferred and angry Neji to a worried Neji.

"Oh!" She blinked, pulling out Naruto's scroll again. "On the way here, I got some… well, surprising news from Naruto. I don't really know how to explain this—so I guess you should just see for yourself."

Neji took it with some precaution, opening the paper warily as his eyes scanned through Naruto's chicken-scratch handwriting and awful grammar. Sakura almost thought it worth it to see the surprise in his face before it turned into a darkening look—it was strange to see the Hyuuga anywhere _near _surprised.

He snapped the scroll shut.

"So he's back, then." Said the Hyuuga, loftily.

Sakura shrugged. "You never know with that guy. But I'd assume so, yeah."

Neji snorted. "There's little use worrying about it now. We have more pressing matters to attend to."

"How are you even _here, _anyway?" It was a question that had been winding through her mind ever since Neji had scared the shit out of her.

The man gave her a slight look. "I have made it to Minas Tirith. It is as you say—beyond the plains dark forces collide together, but the city stands in its stone. They face troubles there as well."

"So… you're a clone?" Sakura should have figured as much.

Neji nodded. "As I said, I have been keeping tabs on you."

Sakura blanched. She'd forgotten all about Neji's bird summons—figures a guy who complains and bemoans about bird cages would have bird summons—and there were enough flying creatures to go around in Middle Earth that she wouldn't be able to tell them apart from regular birds.

Neji brought her out of her reverie with his words. "Someone watches." His eyes narrowed, and Sakura noticed his Byakugan was on. "You should dispel me."

Her brows furrowed. "But… didn't it take forever to get here?"

"Four days." Said the clone. "It took me a bit over a week to reach the city of men. How is it possible for the fellowship to move so slowly?"

"Hobbits." Sakura sighed warily. "And walking."

Neji didn't sound like he appreciated either sentiment, but Sakura didn't give him very much time to react. She whipped out a kunai and slammed it right between his widened eyes—might as well give him a bit of bite for all the shit he had to say to her—and smirked vindictively. That had to be painful. It dispelled in a clout of smoke, until eventually nothing was around her but the silent walkway.

"A companion of yours?"

The second time in less then ten minutes Sakura leapt in fright, berating herself for once more being caught off guard.

"Y—Yeah. Bit of a strange guy, that one." She mumbled awkwardly, supposing that Legolas was the one who was watching. At least it was him—she had a better chance of properly explaining to someone who would listen, aside from say Boromir, who would draw his sword first, use his brain later.

"I had mistaken him for an elf." Legolas huffed softly.

Sakura giggled. "Yeah. I can see how." Neji actually reminded her a bit of an elf. He had the skin and the hair, and that carved expression.

Oh, hold on.

Please, _god, _please, don't let Legolas have heard most of that conversation.

"Err—how long were you…?"

"Not very long." The blonde confessed, having the decency to look a little cowed at being caught snooping. "I was worried for your safety and had come to find you—though it seems you weren't in any danger."

"No, not this time." Against her better judgment, her lips quirked. "I'm sure if you hang around long enough there'll be plenty of opportunities to save me from danger." Considering her knack for finding trouble, it certainly wouldn't be too long from now.

"I intend to." Said Legolas, with all seriousness.

The good mood left her with a huff of air, and the ninja swallowed at the sudden weight that seemed to press with the blue of the elf's eyes. "Uh…" She took a cautious step back, wondering when he'd gotten so close. "I thought… I thought..."

Thought as in past tense. There certainly wasn't any thinking now. Was he getting closer? Oh god, he was, wasn't he? "That Lothlorein was safe." She rushed out, her mind finally piecing words together. "How could I have been in any danger here?"

"Danger lurks everywhere, in these times." Legolas pointed out somberly. "Even in the realm of the elves."

Sakura didn't remember this ever happening in Mirkwood, even when the dark creatures were lurking in the forest. In less then a few months, Middle Earth seemed to have well and truly fallen into shadow. Just another sobering realization for the kunoichi, who was only beginning to understand how much danger she truly was in. "Well, I suppose you're right." She smiled shakily,

There was a deep complexity to his eyes, a certain determination that Sakura didn't like at all, and before he could even open her mouth she already opened hers. "Actually, I've been noticing something and I was wondering if you could tell me…"

Legolas blink, head tilting to the side.

"About Aragorn." She blurted. "Well it's just—everyone seems to look at him like he's about to, well, I don't know, do something amazing or something. He's always been a sort of unofficial leader to the fellowship and I, well, I suppose I thought you could tell me why."

"That's very observant of you." Legolas noted, and for a long moment he said nothing else. Sakura drooped, supposing he wasn't going to answer her after all.

She felt his hand take her elbow gently, guiding her through the winding, leafy passages that she certainly would have gotten lost in without him. "Aragorn has a duty like no other, something of which only he can bear." He began suddenly without preamble, and Sakura almost jumped at the sound of his voice from the quiet. "He is the son of Arathorn, heir to Gondor, and in turn is Isildur's heir."

"Isildur?" Once more, Sakura felt she was missing something big to Middle Earth's rich history.

Legolas nodded. "In the second age, Middle Earth had fallen into a deep shadow. Sauron was strong then, with the power of the ring many thought him unconquerable. It was the last alliance of elves and men which foiled him. Isildur was the leader of this alliance, and instead of destroying the ring in the fires which made it, he took it for himself."

"And what happened after that?" Sakura asked, a little breathless. It had been a long time since she'd heard such a fantastic tale, much less one that was real.

"It became lost through the passage of time." Explained the elf. "Until recently, of course."

"Right." Sakura nodded, before pausing. "At the council… Boromir had mentioned something about the Steward of Gondor. What did that mean?"

"The Steward takes place of the king when the present king is absent. He is the chief counselor to the king in any other instance. Boromir is the son of the current Steward, who rules Gondor while the king is not present."

"And Aragorn is the king?" Sakura asked, brow raised.

Legolas inclined his head. "Aragorn is the King of men." He affirmed.

She felt a little bad talking about Aragorn like this, snooping around all his business, but at the same time she was almost relieved. Talking about Aragorn had almost given the two of them a semblance of some sort of conversation—one which she didn't feel the need to run away from.

"Big shoes to fill." She said aloud, dazedly. No wonder the guy has such a giant chip on his shoulder.

Legolas, who had never heard the expression, wore a confused look.

"Err—it's an expression." Sakura hastily began, noticing the uncomprehending look. "It just means, well, he's got a lot to live up to."

"All great men do." Agreed Legolas.

Sakura wondered how Aragorn felt about this. She'd never had something to live up to—no reputation that exceeded herself, no one looking to her as something bigger then she was. And though she had to prove herself more then a few times as a reputable kunoichi, there had never been a burden already placed on her. Nothing like Sasuke, or for that matter Itachi, the sons of a clan intended for greatness. Not even Naruto, who seemed to have a bigger destiny then anyone, even the blonde himself, had imagined.

.

.

.

Not unusually, Sakura had a lot more to think about then she wanted to.

After finally reaching a stop like Lorein, which offered private rooms and an assortment of luxuries, Sakura didn't waste any time at finally unraveling the fast amounts of her sealed items. No smelly men to encroach on her privacy, snoring dwarves or fidgeting hobbits. Just her, the mirror, and her medical equipment.

Though she new that the baby was currently around the size of a kidney bean, and hence maybe a little bit smaller then the tip of her thumb, there was still a varying degree of mixed emotions that came each time she thought about it, or in this case, studied it too closely.

It wasn't anything right now, she reminded herself, though as a medic she was aware that this, this _thing, _affectionately called "lima" because it's size resembled a lima bean, already had earlobes. Earlobes. Sakura wrinkled her nose. She was already starting to feel more tired then usual, and was absolutely _sure _that she wasn't showing yet—bloating. It was definitely bloating. And every woman hated bloating.

This was the third time in the past hour in which she detachedly tried to reason the pros and cons of letting lima go. And each time the conclusion was different. It'd sure make the mission easier if she wasn't constantly having irritable mood swings, wasn't always more tired then usual. There was only so much prenatal kunoichi meds and a couple of soldier pills could do. At first, she had been pretty confident she'd be okay—after all, Kurenai had been out kicking ass well into her fourth month, much to Asuma's ire.

Now, Sakura was wondering how the hell she'd done it.

But of course, even though at eight weeks it had a tail, was an inch long with beady eyes and didn't look anything remotely human, it was still _alive. _And though Sakura never had any trouble gutting a six foot five guy who was so ugly he could have grown a tail, there was something entirely inhumane about killing off a defenseless little lima bean.

Con.

She couldn't kill a harmless living lima bean.

Pro. If it was dead she wouldn't have to tell Legolas.

At the thought of the blonde elf, Sakura pursed her lips and snappishly rolled the rest of her medical equipment back into its seals. It wasn't like she'd get a proper read on an ultrasound this early, anyway. This whole trip she'd been moodily alternating between studiously ignoring him and giving passing, appraising glances to his ass. This really had to stop. And what would she say? What would be his reaction? Better question, why was she freaking out so much?

The hormones. She thought, irritated. This was all the hormones.

A part of Sakura was putting off telling him because she wanted "the right moment", which she was well aware was a fictional perfect moment that would never happen. Another part was just a lazy bitch that preferred to procrastinate it off. And the rest of her, well, the rest of her was contemplating his reaction. Would he be angry at her for not telling him?

But what scared Sakura the most was…

Would he want her to stay here?

The very thought sent her into a futile frenzy to distract herself, packing up all her belongings and pacing furiously on the wall, at one point being so lost in thought she almost hit her nose on the ceiling. After what seemed like an eternity, the ninja decided that walking a literal hole in the wall wouldn't do her any good, and she leapt back onto the floor, put a shirt on, and whisked off into the corridor.

She couldn't stay here. That was the only thought that continued to stay the same.

She was a ninja, damnit. She belonged with other ninja. Middle Earth was a nice reprieve, she'd privately admit, a sort of medieval fairytale to the modern droll of her detached, assassin lifestyle. Ninja were reserved, frigid and insensitive, and while she would never have to argue with the cable guy over how little she used it, she wouldn't even _have _cable if she lived here.

So no. That wasn't going to happen. Ever.

She paused in her brisk pace at a half open door, peering inside quietly. Sam and Frodo seemed to be sharing this one, but the short brunette Hobbit was nowhere to be found.

Gone? Sakura's brows raised in alarm. There was no danger here in Lorein, and yet Legolas had checked up on her anyway. Was he just being paranoid—or was there really something to be worried about around here?

Regardless, she was meant to protect Frodo, and protect she would.

"_Kushiyose no Jutsu…"_

There was a pop, and then a small, furry kitten came into existence out of a plume of smoke. She licked her paw, looking bored. Sakura wondered how she managed to get the summon clan who seemed to hate her the most.

"Do you need something?" The cat yawned.

Sakura scowled at its innate disrespect. "There are two scents in that room." She motioned to the ajar door. "One of them leads out. Follow it."

The kitten nodded, before lazily beginning its trek down the hallway, Sakura following warily.

"Funny smell." The kitten noted, before sniffing again. "Lots of funny smells."

"Just do your job."

The feline grumbled in response, but did as it was told and wandered off down the hallway and into the canopy of leaves.

"Good evening."

"Oh!" Sakura jolted abruptly, turning around. So much for being sneaky..

"I am the lady's captain, Haldir." The elf with long blonde hair introduced himself. He looked a bit like Legolas, but older, more stern.

It sounded familiar. "Haldir? I think I've heard of you…" Probably not the most polite way of starting a conversation.

"And I, you." The elf rebuked. "Your triumphs have reached even the leaves of Lorein."

Sakura had a feeling her reputation was a little bit more inflated then it should be.

"I—I'm surprised to hear it." She answered, honestly, brows furrowed. "But, I was wondering if you've seen a small creature, probably about this tall, dark curly hair—

"You speak of Frodo." The elf cut her off, looking a tad amused. "My lady is currently keeping him company. You have nothing to fear."

"If you say so…" Sakura trailed off warily, unsure whether to take his answer or not.

Before she could say anything else, however, he had bent down and scooped up her summon. The cat became angry and started to protest being picked up by its scruff, but was too small to do much else.

"Interesting pet." He commented.

"I'm no pet!" The kitten yowled.

The elf looked surprised. "It talks."

"It's a summon." Sakura explained quickly, grabbing the cat out of the elf's hands before it started to bite him or something. "They're… travelling companions to my people."

The elf eyed the cat, and the cat eyed the elf, and neither looked too pleased about it.

"Don't let it walk about on its own." Said the stern-faced elf with humor. "Or perhaps someone will think it a rodent and shove it off."

"I'll be sure to do so." Answered Sakura quickly, grabbing the summon out of his hands and clutching it closely. For once, the thing didn't claw at her.

"If that's all…" Sakura trailed off, walking past the guard, continuing to feel his eyes on her even as she turned the corner. The ninja shivered, dispelling the stupid cat before it could get her into more trouble.

She was almost too her room when yet another voice stopped her.

"He's taken an interest in you." Aragorn noted.

How could she possibly meet so many people on her late night walk? Sakura noted Aragorn leaning on the wrap around banister's railing, pipe in hand.

"I'm sorry?" Sakura coughed, waving off Aragorn's second hand smoke before more could get in her lungs.

"Haldir is a captain of the elves—he wouldn't reveal himself unless necessary." Aragorn's eyes twinkled. "Or, unless he wanted to."

"He thinks I'm a danger to his queen?" Sakura asked, incredulously.

Aragorn shook his head with mirth. "He thinks you're fascinating. Perhaps he's taken a liking to you."

"Oh. _Oh._" Sakura blinked. "But that's—I mean, no. No. Why would anyone…? It's not… It's not like I'm… interesting. Or pretty, or anything." She ended, lamely, unsure how on earth this conversation could get so awkward so quickly. But all she could think of was the elven girls she'd seen, pretty and doll-like with ethereal, flowing long hair. And while her hair was long, it wasn't ethereal, or anywhere near flowing.

"You shouldn't think like that." Said the ranger, seriously.

"But it's true, isn't it?" Sakura tilted her head, a little taken aback by the graveness in his voice. "I mean, all the girls here are all really… well, pretty—

"Middle Earth is for the strong, for the fittest." Aragorn cut her off with a wave. "A true warrior will want a strong wife, not the most beautiful. Haldir is not the first to see the strength in you, and want it for his own."

Sakura blanched. "Not the first?"

But Aragorn didn't say anything to that, only smiled. "You best be on your way." He said instead. Sakura hoped he wasn't alluding to Legolas. They weren't that obvious… were they? "We leave in the morning."

The woman nodded slowly, bidding him goodnight and making to open her door.

The pink haired ninja stilled. "You said a true warrior will want a strong wife, not the most beautiful." Sakura recalled, looking over her shoulder. "And yet you chose the most beautiful of all."

Aragorn looked surprised she was even aware of him and Arwen, but before he could question her further, she gave him a smirk and closed the door. And there was nothing more dishonorable than disturbing a lady's sleep, and there was nothing more he could do but shake his head fondly. Perhaps she really was too cunning for her own good.

* * *

_ahaha Aragorn is a little too smart for his own good, you'll see... review?_


	8. strike back

_i'm just shitting these stories out today. anyway, ill be suup busy with all these goddamn sats and all the retarded extracurriculurs ive saddled myself with. i'm so lazy i wont even bother to spell extra-whatever right. damn._

_so all these chapters are actually named from obscure songs on the samurai champloo soundtrack, my favorite fucking show ever. plus jaguar batter is just a cool name. _

* * *

Morning came and Sakura was completely unprepared for it. This bed had to be the best thing she'd ever had in months and now she was going to have to let it go. Turning around in the sheets once more, the kunoichi grumbled at the morning sunbeams and the inevitable departure they symbolized.

The woman got up, eventually, catching a look at her disheveled pink hair, curling around her collar bones and getting much too long for her liking.

With one last despondent look to the sheets she had become so fond of, she threw them off and padded around the cold stone flooring, attempting to find her clothes. She bandaged her obnoxiously growing boobs, threw a fishnet underneath her armor before fishing around for her pants. Once found, she rewrapped all her scrolls onto her belts ad donned her cloak, throwing one last longing look to her bed before exiting the room.

The fellowship was already down at the docks, saying their farewells to the assembled elves bidding them goodbye. Sakura caught sight of Haldir, motionless next to his queen, and felt the need to give him a vast berth on her way down to join her companions.

What was odd was that the Queen didn't say anything at all, only stared at each of them with equally fervor, Frodo the longest.

There was a brief, startling moment in which Galadriel's eyes fell to her, seeming to look right though her in their tenacious gaze. But Sakura held her ground, and her mind, for that matter.

"Your mind is blocked to me…" Said Galadriel after blinking slowly, perhaps the closest thing to shock Sakura had ever seen on her. "Though your body is not." And then, with the slightest of smiles. "You will always be welcomed in the realm of the elves."

Before panic could fully erupt, the great elf Lady smiled beguilingly to them all. "I wish you all a safe journey—may your travels one day bring you back to Lorein."

The fellowship seemed shocked at her words, and Sakura felt her face lose all its pallor as the blood drained from it. How did she…?

Sakura was the first to leave, turning around quickly and jumping onto one of the boats. Aragorn followed confusedly after, rocking the wooden shell slightly as he entered behind her. The rest of the fellowship climbed onto theirs. Sakura had thought she'd be the one to get the single boat, but Aragorn had climbed in and Boromir was left to row alone. Not that the Gondorian seemed to mind at all.

"The great Lady's words shocked you." Aragorn commented, as they began to row into the plowing, tumultuous river. "Why?"

"It really isn't—

"It is important." Aragorn cut off intently.

"I was going to say it really isn't any of your business." Sakura snapped back, glacially. She wasn't in any mood to talk to the ranger, and even if she was, the conversation was much too frightening to even think about.

Great, she thought irritably, and now I'm stuck in a boat with him for the duration of the river.

The kunoichi soothed herself knowing that if it really got that bad, she could just jump out the boat and run along side them. At least that way she wouldn't be fielding what was surely going to be Aragorn's version of twenty questions.

"I'm only worried for your wellbeing." Aragorn stressed. "You seemed genuinely afraid at her words—why? What is it you're not—

"Look," Sakura snapped. "I'm sure you've already figured it out, so spare me the berating talk and stop worrying, I'm fine, honestly."

"I'm afraid I _don't _already know." Aragorn denied.

"…You don't?" Sakura paused in her rowing, turning around incredulously. Last night he'd even hinted at it. _"Haldir is not the first to see the strength in you, and want it for his own." _

"No." Aragorn denied, honestly.

"But last night…" She trailed off, confused. "You said Haldir wasn't the first to…"

"I cannot fathom your obliviousness in the most obvious of subjects." The dark ranger cut off, exasperated. "I was merely pointing out that Boromir could not have been more obvious with his intentions towards you—

"Boromir?" Sakura repeated, veritably shocked. "_What_? What are you talking about?"

"You've genuinely never noticed his intentions?" This time, Aragorn seemed actually surprised. "Not even his lingering looks?"

"Nothing." Sakura answered truthfully, trying to recall a time in which he had done anything but berate her or make some sort of rude comment about her. Was that it? Some sort of warped version of pulling her pigtails?

"More oblivious then I thought." The ranger muttered to himself, before his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "If you were not speaking of Boromir, then who _are _you alluding to?"

Sakura blanched, turning back to the front quickly. "No one!" She barked out. "And quite frankly, I don't see how it's any of your business."

"I suppose." The ranger agreed, though he didn't look a wink happy to admit it. "Your doings are your own. I was merely concerned that someone was wrongly taking advantage of you."

"Now _that,_" Sakura scoffed. "I think I'd notice."

.

.

.

"It's Legolas, isn't it?"

Camp on the riverside had been set, and Sakura had readily volunteered to gather more wood for the dwindling fire, even though no one had asked for more. Quite frankly, she just wanted to have a moment to herself. Aragorn, even as he explained the great statues or talked quietly with his elven friend, seemed to be watching her. Like he expected her to crumble to pieces, or worse, break down and explain everything to him.

Though apparently, neither answer was needed, for he had figured it out himself.

"I'm sorry?" Sakura turned around, logs in one hand, the other on her hip. She looked confident, though she was mightily pale.

"You thought I had been talking about Legolas." Aragorn reiterated.

Sakura pursed her lips. Why did this guy have to be so perceptive? He could've made a pretty good ninja, she digressed. "I might've." The woman eventually bit out.

"So you've had relations with him?" She gave an almost imperceptible nod. "For how long?"

"It's… more complicated then that." She began awkwardly.

"And you will tell me." Aragorn demanded of her quietly.

She nodded, sighing. "When I had first arrived in Middle Earth, I swear I had no intentions of, well, having any sort of romantic relations with anyone from your world. Much less the… prince of the king I was currently serving." At that, she rubbed her hair awkwardly. "I hadn't even realized what it was at the time, you're right, you know, about me being really oblivious about that kind of stuff. I guess it just sort of happened… and I knew I had to leave, so… I left. Of course I hadn't expected to come back, or anything."

"And you were intimate?" Aragorn asked as she ended her tale, a grave look to his face.

She blushed. "Yes."

"This only complicates things further." Aragorn muttered to himself. But it did explain a lot. When he and Gandalf had came to Mirkwood he'd never seen Legolas so miserable. Like his heart had been ripped out. An apt comparison, knowing the truth of things.

"Complicate? What do you mean?" Sakura thought the biggest complication she had to worry about was the kidney bean in her stomach, which was there of her own violation.

"Elves are seldom intimate outside of their matings, which would go to reason that only eternal mates would do such a thing. Now I'm sure you've never heard of that

term," It only took one look at her blank, frozen face to figure that out. "And it's possible Legolas hadn't told you because he was aware you wouldn't understand."

Aragorn wasn't sure if Sakura understood what he meant even now, as her face is nothing but confusion and her lips mouth, "…Eternal?"

He nodded.

"Like… forever?"

"Yes." He answered, in all seriousness.

She backed away, slowly, reminding him of a frightened, cornered animal. Even as they faced a balrog, got lost in a dark mine shaft and ran from thousands of orcs, he'd never seen the terrified look to her face as he did at the mention of eternity.

"People do not believe in being together for eternity in your world?" He asked, incredulously. It was most likely the most romantic notion in the entire world, and surely even hers and heard of it.

"Well yes." She began, dazed. Her eyes were wide—he'd never seen such a brilliant, green color. Perhaps on an elf, but never on a human. "But, it's sort of just a fairytale. I mean, no one _really _believes in it—we're incapable, you see. It's a common statistic that ninja generally don't live past thirty-five." She was rambling now, Aragorn was aware.

"Oh." She moaned, brushing hair out of her eyes and looking away. "_It's not like I'm… interesting. Or pretty, or anything_" she had said, though Aragorn would have to disagree. He wasn't particularly surprised by all the enamored suitors she seemed to garner, there was certainly something genuinely, almost worryingly beautiful to her. The rose colored hair and the bright, bottle green eyes. Only complimented by her strength that no other human seemed to possess. "Oh I'm a horrible person. This whole time…?"

"You're not horrible." He attempted to console her, though he'd always been particularly bad at consoling women. "You just didn't understand."

There was a moment in which she looked like she was going to say something, but stopped.

Sakura's head snapped to the side, as a faint noise caught her ear.

Aragorn followed her movement, listening, but unable to hear anything aside from the rustling wind.

She dropped her logs, and turned towards him. "It's Frodo." She said, breathlessly. "He's in danger."

Aragorn had never seen anything as strange, nor as beautiful, as Sakura taking flight into the trees. Effortlessly, like a bird or dancing fawn it was only a light bending of her knees and she was flying into the canopy, darting on branches and into the distance. He had but a moment to admire the gracefulness and ease it took her, before he too was off sprinting in the direction.

By the time he reached Frodo, though, there was no trace of her. Only Frodo, crumpled against the stone pillars looking like he'd just stared death down in the face, and wasn't sure if he had won with his life or not.

"Frodo?" He called hesitantly.

"It has taken Boromir…" Said Frodo, numbly.

"Where is the ring?" Aragorn asked, urgently.

But Frodo backed away, looking as if it was _Aragorn _who was going to take the ring from him. For a moment, he was too shocked that Frodo would run away from him to do anything.

"Stay away!" The hobbit cried, backing further.

"Frodo…" Aragorn began, torn. "I swore to protect you."

The hobbit looked him straight in the eye, fearful and frightened, as if finally understanding how dangerous the ring really was. "Can you protect me from yourself?"

The hobbit uncurled his first, the ring glinting gold and beautiful in the afternoon sunlight, lying innocently in his palm. Involuntarily, Aragorn's eyes are drawn to it, and he watches glimmer in the sun.

"Would you destroy it?" Frodo whispered.

Aragorn knelt down in front of him. "I would have gone with you to the end… into the very fires of Mordor."

After a brief silence, Frodo nodded. "I know… Look after the others, especially Sam. He will not understand…"

The ranger froze, as he faintly picked up the sounds of a battle, the ringing clang of a sword and the feral grunts of orcs.

"Go, Frodo!"

The hobbit hesitated.

"Run!" He yelled. "Run!"

The hobbit backed away into the trees, just in time too, as a small army of beastly Uruk-hai swarm Amon hen behind Aragorn. The ranger turned swiftly and began to attack, bringing down two with his sword and leaping into the ruins, others close in on him. There weren't as many as he had first thought, and after slicing through a few more, their numbers seem smaller then he had imagined.

One gets the drop on him, as two others swarm him from the front. But the Uruk-hai never had its chance, as a long, thin needle is embedded into its skull, and Aragorn rolls to dodge getting pinned beneath it.

He doesn't waste any time, parrying a strike from one of the beasts and ducking under the guard of the other, tearing through the both of them.

He turned around, intent on finishing up with the rest of them, only to see Sakura standing atop one of the giant beasts, pulling her long, thin sword out of the chest. The rest lay slain on the grown in the same manner, dozens of tiny knives and thin sticks of metal protruding from the thick hides.

It's only then does he notice the trail of blood leading out of the clearing, and the bodies of Uruk-hai in their wake.

"They're after Frodo." Sakura said, clambering off the giant slain creature and onto the ground.

There's blood smeared down the side of her cheek, sticking to her lashes and a dark plum in covering. All down the front of her shirt and smeared against her knees, on her knuckles, swiped down her short skirt.

Sakura took his silent shock wrong.

"It's not mine." She quickly soothed.

But Aragorn does nothing but shake his head. That's not what he's so surprised about. To think, that she barely came up to his shoulder yet she had no trouble taking down an army of Uruk-hai.

"There's more." She motioned to the bloody trail down the forest. "Most of them split, but I think they're still going after Frodo."

There was a rustling in the trees, and both of them brought their guard up. Aragorn relaxed once he realized it was Legolas and Gimli, surveying the bloodied ground in surprise. Sakura sheathed her sword, strapping it onto her back, next to the smaller blade.

The silence was filled with the long, sad bellow into the night, and all four turn in the direction of the noise.

"The horn of Gondor!" Legolas identified.

Aragorn turned to his elven companion, the two of them sharing a look. "Boromir!"

The four took off in the direction of the horn, down the path Sakura had cleared of Uruk-hai. The great gray bodies lay strewn across the clearing, and Aragorn could almost count the many knives still stuck to them. Sakura sure didn't waste any time taking them down. The ranger gave a brief look at the woman, who didn't seem to have any trouble keeping up to their pace.

The horn's long bellow faltered, before being cut off. Aragorn feared the worse. "Sakura." He panted to her. "Boromir is—

The pink haired ninja only gave a brief nod, before crouching mid run and leaping into the trees. There was only a slight whisper of her pink hair, before she was gone.

There was no time to contemplate how her strength was possible, as they neared the festering, giant black army that swarmed around the Gondorian and what looked to be Merry and Pippin. The three of them charge straight into the crowd of Uruk-hai, slashing desperately through the immovable crowd of beasts. The passage is long and tedious, and Aragorn can hear Boromir calling for Merry and Pippin to run.

By the time there's a way to Boromir, the man was already laid on the ground, a soft green glow from Sakura's hands steadily bathing him in a sickly light.

She seemed to have taken out the arrows, but there must have been dozens. Her hands were shaking in their green glow, and Boromir seemed to have noticed his presence.

"They took the little ones…" He sputtered in a painful gasp.

The ranger tried to shush him, telling him to save his strength, but Boromir only continued to shake his head. Sakura looked up, bottle green eyes wide and pained, meeting his. "I—the flow it's too…" She trailed off, looking down to the flesh she was carefully mending. "There's too much blood…"

Boromir's eyes fluttered again. "Frodo… where is Frodo?" He rasped out, panicked.

"I let Frodo go."

The Gondorian held Aragorn's gaze. "Then you did what I could not." His voice is soft, near nonexistent. "I tried to take the ring from him."

"The ring is beyond our reach now." Aragorn kneeled opposite of Sakura.

"Forgive me, I did not see…" Boromir croaked. "I have failed you all."

Isildur's heir shook his head. "No, Boromir. You fought bravely. You have kept your honor." The dull green light grew brighter and brighter, but Boromir's eyes only continued to slowly droop.

"Leave it!" His weak arms staved off Sakura's; the medic looking down at him, shocked. "It is over… the world of Men will fall and all will come to darkness and my city to ruin… Aragorn…"

"I do not know what strength is in my blood." Said the man, uneasily. "But I swear to you… I will not let the White City fall, nor your people fall…"

Boromir shook his head. "Our people… our people…" He amended.

Aragorn brought Boromir's swords into the dying man's hands, the Gondorian's fingers tightening around the hilt. "I would have followed you, my brother… my captain, my King."

Aragorn closed his eyes, knowing the man was dead. "Be at peace, son of Gondor." He whispered, bending down and kissing the brave man's forehead. He looked up to see Sakura, head turned away to give them privacy. Her hands were stained with blood, as was the rest of her, coloring the vibrant pink of her hair into a dull red.

"You did what you could, Sakura."

Sakura looked up at him quickly, brows furrowing and her mouth opening. "Aragorn, I—

Behind them, the last Uruk-hai gave a wrenching cry, before Legolas mercifully gave it peace with a shot to the head. The elf and the dwarf came to rest near the two of them. Sakura took one look at them, before turning back towards Aragorn. The man could perceive the pleading in her eyes.

"Legolas," He began, addressing his elven friend and the dwarf both. "Please, find Sam and Frodo."

The elf nodded, darting into the trees, Gimli quick on his tail. Aragorn turned back to Sakura with confusion, as the woman continued to push her green magic into Boromir, though he looked lifeless. "This is a complex Jutsu." She murmured quietly, concentrating on one glowing hand as the other reached into her pocket. ""It's a stasis medical seal that will keep him comatose while using his own body to repair the damage sustained. "

She pushed Boromir's upper body up, gesturing to his wounds with her chin. "If you could just take those out—

Aragorn nodded numbly, almost uncomprehending of what she was saying. He began to swiftly take the many arrows protruding from the man's back, watching in fascination as no blood came from the wounds.

More fascinating, watching the young woman furious at work, drawing a complex design onto Boromir's chest, just enough to draw a slight line of red but not enough to actually bleed. She finished it off with a strange character in the middle, lines twisting together to make some sort of circular design.

"So he lives." Aragorn breathed, before turning wide eyes to Sakura. "You have conquered death."

She shrugged. "I've only stopped it. No one can _truly _conquer death." And then, with a wry smile. "If only I could have done the same for Gandalf."

"That was not your fault." He heard himself say dimly, most of his attention still fixated on the pulsing seal on Boromir, which was no fading into black.

"He won't wake." She said, returning her attention once more to her patient at hand. "Not at least for a few days."

"We don't have a few days." Aragorn mumbled, looking forlorn once more. How were they to continue on carrying him without causing the man further injury? Or for that matter, themselves? "As it is, our journey down the Anduin will be treacherous and filled with foes. The river itself is only another obstacle, it's great waves coursing all the way to—

Aragorn paused, and stood. Sakura looked up at him curiously.

"We will send him to Gondor." Said the ranger. "In a casket of his own."

.

.

.

Sakura had to admit Aragorn had come up with a more then half-way decent plan. Perhaps that was why he was looked to as their leader—not because of his blood, but because he was always the guy with the plan. Boromir really did look like the dead, wearing a tunic once more to cover the seal bringing life to him once more. He held his horn in his hands, and lay still like the death whose doorstep he was poised at, sailing tranquilly down the tumultuous river. Aragorn assured her that, without anything to disturb him, the man would float all the way back to his kingdom.

Still, the riverbank was deathly silent, remorseful even, with the loss of the hobbits. Frodo and Sam had left—to Mordor on their own, apparently. Truly, Sakura didn't think they stood a chance in hell at doing that, but this Fellowship thing was already so fucked up that it hardly mattered.

The worst part—she truly did feel bad.

Unfortunately, she'd managed to get attached to all of them. Even Boromir to a degree.

That didn't stop her from sailing his half-dead ass down the fucking river though. He could stay far, far away, thank you.

Aragorn turned away after Boromir was nothing but a speckle on the horizon, a stern look to his face. They'd dropped everything that was more then necessary—generally all the hobbit's food items—to travel light.

There was a steely light to his eyes as he looked back at them. "Let's hunt some orc."

* * *

_review or sakura's baby dies. just kidding. though that would be a pretty convenient way to end this story. huzzah!_


	9. bird of passage

_FINALLY ITS DONE. I had a hard time with this one, mostly because it was one of the quickest scenes in the book and movie and not really one of my favorites. The reason why it held such a lasting impression was the epic background shots of everyone running. But anyway, I think the most considerable issue with this story, and all crossover stories, is the realistic value of both sides of the stories. It'd be all to easy to lose LOTR completely by adding Sakura and turning it on its head with an AU, but at the same time I could say the same of Naruto. _

_I think I already make Sakura a bit au than her canon character who is, admittedly, neither particularly emotionally strong nor physically. Well, I amend that, _**supposedly** _she has intense physical strength that's never really characterized to its full potential in the male-based world of Naruto. And I don't think she could anyway, cause she's pregnant. I already stretch that idea enough under the premise of her being a ninja, lol. _

* * *

Not for the first time since they'd split from the rest of the Fellowship, Sam was contemplating whether Mr. Frodo's grand idea to go off by himself was, in fact, _plausible. _Surely it sounded nice, heroic even, taking the bouldering weight onto their shoulders and hiking through craggy, unsure terrain. But halfway into the fifth day, with no end in sight, Sam took in Frodo's labored breathing, and the way his face had lost its rounded visage to morph into a gaunt, pallor-less version of its former self, and decided perhaps it hadn't been the best idea after al.

"Why don't we rest here?" He called to his companion, uneasily. Frodo, some ways ahead of him, paused in his stumbling trek, turning to look at Sam with glazed eyes.

"We haven't gotten very far." He pointed out, though looking like he'd rather not go on much farther himself.

Sam shook his head. "We've made good timing." Sort of. Well, from what he could tell. He wasn't the best with maps… but he was pretty sure they were a ways farther than they had been before. "And it's getting darker."

Which was true as well. The sun had long since set, leaving only lingering burning entrails lighting the dim sky.

Frodo reluctantly agreed, and the hobbits searched for a relatively safe spot to set up camp. For once, Sam didn't even feel for setting up his array of pots and pans, starting up a fire, or basking in camaraderie. Maybe because, aside from a somber Frodo, he had no other company to speak of.

The hobbit sighed, and settled himself onto his bedroll.

Morning came with a twinkling ember to the grayscale sky, lighting at the corners of the long, bowl-like world they'd found themselves in. Sam was awoken to an irritable, incessant tapping at his foot.

Thinking it a bug, the hobbit only rolled over, flicking it away with a twitch of his foot, only for it to continue some moments later.

Finally, the redheaded Halfling bolted upright, intent on squashing the thing and giving himself a few more precious hours of sleep. But he wasn't met with any variegation of grotesque bug—

But a strange, foreign looking bird.

It was bigger than most birds, but not as big as the enormous eagles. And there was something strange to it's tail, which was long and colored red at the feathered ends. Not only that, but it was wearing jewelry. A strange, swirling design to its designed anklet.

Not to mention parchment attached to its neck.

Blinking the sleepiness from his eyes, the hopped leant over to untie the scroll from the unnervingly silent bird's neck.

It rolled cleanly, unraveling in his hands with a lyrical, calligraphic script of which he'd never seen before.

_Sam,_

It headed.

_I hope this letter reaches you in good health. The Fellowship travels due South, following the trail of hunting orcs who have captured Merry and Pippin. We expect to supersede them in a few days time. No one takes badly to Frodo's decision—we only hope that you have safe travels to Mordor, and will assist you in any way we can. Please respond when you get this message—but I cannot return another after. The plains of Rohan have little cover, and we have already encountered various spies of Saruman watching us. _

_Regards, _

_Sakura_

Sam stared for a few minutes longer, before putting the parchment down.

The bird stared back, unblinking.

A bit unnerved by the unnatural glow to its eyes, Sam quickly penned down a response of his own.

By midday, the four of them had covered much ground, resulting in a slowed pace among the grueling highlands of Rohan. Not that the elf was complaining. In fact, not that _anyone _was complaining. Aside from a few well-meaning grumbles from the dwarf, the four of the remaining fellowship were uneasily silent. Aragorn was set into a determined, if not stern countenance, and Sakura seemed more distant than usual. If that was possible.

Of course, the woman kept her secrets. And while he'd rather divulge her of them, he'd kept his mouth shut.

The group halted as Aragorn slowed ahead, pressing his head closer to the rock.

Legolas knelt beside him quietly, a determined look to his face, but he said nothing to Aragorn. The man looked deep in concentration, and Gimli turned to Sakura confusedly.

"What is he doing?" The dwarf asked between breaths.

Sakura shrugged, retying her hair. "Tracking." She said, lowly.

Though in her vast experience with trackers, she'd never seen anyone do it like Aragorn. How listening to the ground could possibly work, she'd never know, though the Ranger seemed to be the equivalent of a shinobi tracking team, so perhaps it was working all the same.

The blistering sun beat down on them a few moments more, Gimli stretching his stubbly legs beside her as he caught his breath, Aragorn and Legolas both in a curious silence.

Finally, the Ranger stood. "I can't be sure." He began steadily. "We seem to be making good ground—but there's too much interference to be accurate."

Deciding that perhaps her two cents may be warranted, Sakura knelt to the ground as well, placing two fingers into the mossy earth. Chakra shot out of her fingers like an acute sound wave, rippling through the ground and relaying to her the general geography of their expansive radius, as well as what seemed to be a cloud of heady thudding. Two, actually. One group seemed to be of four-legged mammals—horses, the people of Middle Earth referred to them as—and the other seemed to be heavy-set two-legged creatures, one going in the opposite direction.

Sakura looked up, to find the three watching her curiously.

Aragorn quirked a brow. "A tracker as well?"

"Not by trade." Sakura insisted, getting to her feet. "I think what's getting in your way are a group of horses going in that direction." She pointed to their left, where the sun streaked a narrow glimpse of gold behind the peaked mountains. "And the orcs we're after are about a day or two's trek over that way." She jerked in the opposite direction.

Aragorn nodded sternly. "We shall make haste, then."

He took off then, with a considerably harsher pace than before, Legolas quick and light on his heels. Gimli gave an incoherent crumble, before staggering behind them in his armor.

Sakura crouched, ready to leap after them, when a shadow fell upon her.

The ninja looked up, to see one of Neji's hawks circling above her. She'd used one of them to contact Sam, and it seemed the redheaded hobbit had gotten back to her, with good time too.

The bird circled once more, before dropping the scroll in her hands. It flew down to her shoulder, where she stroked it absently as she unrolled the parchment. She sent the bird back to Neji with a brisk wave of her hand, beginning to read what Sam had written back.

Apparently they'd found some sort of guide—actually, it was Golem. Though Sakura hadn't heard the full story on the warped, twisted creature that was once human, none of the small snippets she'd heard had been particularly flattering. Golem, it seemed, had become so obsessed with the ring it had turned him into the mangled character he was today, which derived quite a bit of pity from the late Gandalf. Frodo, however, had seemed frightened of him.

And yet they were following his guide…

They had made it into the mountainous highlands between Mordor and Lothlorein, right before the swamps. And though it would take a bit of time, it seemed that that was the _shortest _way to get to Mordor—perhaps not the easiest. Sakura sighed. And considering that they were bumbling Hobbits… it could take them months to reach the maw of darkness.

The girl snapped the scroll shut, looking out into the distance to find her companions quite a ways ahead of her.

She dropped it where she stood with a timed explosive tag, deciding it was better to destroy it than have it taking up space in her pack, and followed her companions with an enormous jump.

It only took three to close the distance between her and the remaining Fellowship, and she supposed that if she had been travelling alone, she may have already reached Merry and Pippin. _And be exhausted, _she thought, morosely. This whole pregnancy thing was a lot harder than she'd previously rationalized—how the hell did Kurenai do it? This brisk sprinting was probably the recommended amount of strenuous activity she really should be doing.

_The next time we stop, _She promised to herself, feeling a little guilty for foolishly continuing onwards even in her condition, knowing full well as a medic-nin it wasn't ideal. _I'm going to get a really great night's sleep._

And she did.

Sakura's head hit her bag with an almost audible thump, her eyes closed, and she was out. At this point, she wasn't really worried about having to look out for herself, she trusted the fellowship enough to know they'd watch out for her, and quite honestly she needed the rest.

The other three continued to eat the leftovers from Lothlorein, Legolas sending a furtive, worried glance her way. "Should we wake her for dinner?" He asked, unsure.

Aragorn shook his head. "Let her sleep."

He had a curious suspicion about Sakura, an apprehensive worry that she was hiding something rather important from the fellowship. Something told him they hadn't heard the whole story about her, well actually, he was sure of it. Though she was shrouded in mystery, the girl herself was a generally amiable, honest person, which went a very long way with the Ranger. So whatever she was hiding certainly wouldn't effect their quest, though that meant little in reference to _her._

And, more importantly, he had nothing to base this on.

_She is a woman, _He reasoned. And he'd certainly never seen a woman be able to do the many incredible feats she could. This journey, which had already spanned more than four weeks, must be impossibly taxing on her. Even he, a well seasoned and well traveled Ranger was feeling the strain of such stress for so long.

But yet, not only was she a woman, but a member of the elusive _shinobi, _which seemed to be a class of humans all on their own. She carried herself in the most inconceivable of fights with a balletic dexterity, was well versed in medicine and tracking—and was really a Ranger herself.

_I'll have to unravel more of her. _The Ranger decided, reasonably. _For, as of now, I have no facts to go on._

His eyes turned to Legolas, who was staring pensively into the prussian blue of the sky.

And what of the two of them? Though Sakura had been more forthcoming with information than usual, he, what with the greater gravity of recent circumstances, hadn't been able to fully assess the situation with his elfin friend. However, considering his vast experience with the elf, and their amiable relations, he'd consider himself at least capable of making an accurate guess towards his friend's feelings.

_At any rate, I certainly don't have the time to figure out their complex issues now. _

And with their luck so far, possibly not anywhere near the foreseeable future.

.

.

.

The winter sun was a silent, calamitous presence at the back of the sky, casting long strokes of shadow that blurred down the countryside in time with the lengthening strides of the Fellowship. It was steadily rising towards its paramount, Sakura keeping time with the angle of her shadow and what she could tell from the sun. They must have passed a time zone or two travelling to Lorein, because her watch, which she had adjusted in the Shire, was now quite a ways off.

The ninja grumbled, thinking how much easier this would be if Merry and Pippin had a reputable chakra source, which could be traced simply like a guiding beacon. Without it, Sakura was no better off than Aragorn, using the ground and vibrations from Uruk-hai to judge the distance between them. Well, she could use her cats, but they were fickle and temperamental at best, and probably wouldn't like being out in the open like this.

_Some summons. _She thought, wryly, before narrowing her eyes forward. She sent out another pulse of chakra through her feet, and waited for the waves to bounce back towards her.

When they did, they were a little closer than she had expected.

"We'll be there by noontime." She said aloud, squinting into the cold sunshine.

Evening his strides beside her, Aragorn only nodded. "We should prepare ourselves for a quick battle; hopefully we'll still have the element of surprise."

Sakura chanced a quick glance to Legolas, but the elf had his eyes far into the distance, towards something she couldn't see. Not for the first time, she wondered what it was like to be an elf, or a Hyuuga, with keen eyes that could see so much farther than any others.

The Ranger looked back, and then did a double take. "Gimli!" He called over the frightening plain winds. "Make haste!"

"You try on these legs!" Retorted the dwarf, muffled by the clang of his armor and his labored breathing.

Aragorn quirked a slight smile, slowing his pace down to assist the dwarf, and effectively leaving Sakura and Legolas once more alone. With all the tension, what with Merry and Pippin being effectively kidnapped by an army of giant mud creatures, Sakura didn't have the proper time to muse on her relationship with the elf—as she usually did whenever her mind wandered.

She hadn't meant to confide in Aragorn, and if anything, it actually had the opposite effect that confiding usually has with her. Generally when she confessed things to Ino, it made her feel lighter, and if anything, a little more composed and sure of herself. Speaking with Aragorn had only beffudled her more—and terrified her, if she wanted to privately admit that to herself.

_Eternity._

What a horrifying word.

_He was probably just speaking romantically. _She reasoned, logically. _And I can't make decisions just yet, I should probably ask him to explain further the next break we have._

Though that could take a while.

The ninja gave a sidelong glance to the object of her confusing thoughts, who seemed entirely oblivious.

"Sakura," As if reading her mind, the elf effectively startled her out of her reverie. "I know this isn't the proper place, but…"

She swallowed thickly.

"After Merry and Pippin are rescued—" Sakura was a little impressed with his confident bravado on the matter, "There are matters I'd like to formally discuss with you."

_Uck. Formally. _

Reluctantly, and with more unwillingness than she'd like to admit, Sakura turned to him as well. If they were going to sit down and have a serious conversation, this may be the perfect opportunity to perhaps confess one or two rather crucial secrets of her own. (As much as she'd rather not). "Actually, there's something important I wanted to talk to you about too."

His brows raised, as if he hadn't expected the prospect. "Truly? Well, then we'll have to—

He cut himself off, however, head snapping forward and attention effectively caught in something else. Sakura followed his gaze, not for the first time wishing for some good old Hyuuga genetics, minus the cage-bird seal, but could only see the barest hint of craggy rock among the looming mountains in the distance.

"Legolas?" She questioned, curiously. "What are you—

"Something approaches." He spoke hastily, turning back to where Aragorn was helping Gimli along. "Aragorn! Movement in the North!"

The Ranger jogged up towards them with trepidation, an alertness to him that concerned Sakura. Legolas pointed to something she couldn't see. "A dust cloud rises with the western wind."

"A big group, then." Aragorn surmised, unhappily. "The Uruk-hai?"

Sakura shook her head, biting her lip. "No, it's not them." Though to that extent, she hadn't felt very much of them at all as of late. For the better part of the day they'd been using prints and the remains of their camps to track their direction. Either they had found a way around her chakra waves, or they were no longer in range.

"They have four legs." She relayed back to them, probing the ground with chakra.

Legolas turned to Aragorn. "Horses?"

"It would appear so."

They were certainly moving faster than the leisurely herds she'd felt before, though. Perhaps something had spooked them… or perhaps…

"What did you call the people here?" She thought aloud. "The Rohan…

"The Riders of Rohan." Aragorn filled in, seeming to come to the same conclusion as her.

"The people of the horse-lords?" Legolas joined in. "Could it be them?"

"Most likely." Aragorn nodded sternly. "And they approach quickly."

The Fellowship slowed, taking cover behind an enormous rock face. The storming horse hooves thudded louder and louder as the enormous group of beasts approached, and Aragorn crouched tensely with his head peering out to watch them come nearer. They were going to jump out into the open, Sakura realized, judging from their positioning. A surrender, then? The ninja narrowed her eyes, backtracking and disappearing into the shadows, cloaked with a Genjutsu.

The three men of the Fellowship sprung out of their hiding spot as the riders came closer, facing the stampeding herd head on. But the horses split in two, encircling the fellowship. Aragorn narrowed his eyes, sword drawn, steadily circling around to keep his back from the spear-drawn riders. Gimli had pulled out his axe, and Legolas his bow.

The sea of horses parted, to reveal a man dressed in armor with a spear of his own, eyes dark under his helmet and hair tied high on his head.

"What business does an Elf, a man and a Dwarf have in Riddermark?"

"Our scout reported four travelers, sir." Spoke one of his horsemen.

The blonde turned to them once more, his livid, stern brow almost covered by his beard and helmet. "There were four of you? Where has the other gone? Speak quickly!"

"The other is right here."

The men surrounding the Fellowship jolted in surprise, their horses spooked and unsteady as the riders hastily made to reassure them. Eomer froze, hands limp on the reigns as he slowly tiled his head upwards.

Through the glare of the sun, he could make out the bright of a human's eyes, and the slow, pointed descent of a nose, sharp cheekbones and a small chin.

"What business do you have to halt us in our quest?" Said the man, who, belatedly, the horseman realized to be a _wo_man.

"A woman?" The blonde choked out, surprised to find a thin blade pressed to the inside of his jaw.

Around him, his men broke into disquieted murmurs.

The woman didn't answer, only holding his gaze coolly, above the long stretch of her blade. How she managed to jump atop his horse among a circle of his men he couldn't quite comprehend, nor did he have the time to do so.

"I will only repeat my command once! Who are you travelers, and what business do you have?"

The blade tilted inwards dangerously, stinging against his skin. The woman had yet to release his gaze, glimmering green eyes narrowed underneath a hood of impassivity. She seemed to judge him with only the slightest flicker in her deep bottle eyes, appraising his very character with a fortuitous eye.

"Sakura." Called one of the travelers from the ground.

Almost reluctantly, the blade's pressure eased off, and the woman sheathed her sword, elegantly dropping to the ground to reveal her surprisingly small height. Yet even from her height some feet shorter than him, her intimidating, stoic gaze didn't waver in threatening formidability.

"Give me your name, Horsemaster, and I shall give you mine." Responded the Dwarf with surprising politeness.

Eomer swallowed, coming to the quick decision that these travelers should speak their piece. He handed his staff to another of the horsemen, dismounting to the ground where he stood evenly with the group. The man came to put a steadying hand on his Dwarf friend, and the horseman was surprised with the camaraderie between the undoubtedly mismatched group.

Regardless, he held his head high. "I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."

Almost immediately had the elf drawn his bow, the man grabbing a hand for the hilt of his blade. Yet it was the woman whom he was most surprised by—he'd expected such reactions—she only appraised him critically, an amused, yet dangerous smile to her lips. As if she expected such a bluff.

(_Male pride, _Sakura mused, entertained. _So predictable.)_

"You would die before your stroke fell!" Promised the Elf, threateningly.

Around them, the group of spears closed in further, until the air became stagnant with labored, edged breaths.

Aragorn spoke then. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimly, son of Gloin, Legolas of the Woodland realm and our travelling companion Sakura of the far East. We are friends of Rohan and of Theoden, your king."

"Theoden no longer recognizes friend from foe." Said Eomer gravely, removing his helmet with great remorse. "Not even his own kin."

The spears withdrew at that, as if on cue. Legolas lowered his bow, and Aragorn stood from his defensive position.

Eomer continued onwards, "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets."

"We are not spies." Aragorn insisted, calmly, ever the peace keeper. "We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They've taken two of our friends captive."

Confusedly, the blonde answered, "The URuks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night."

"But there were two hobbits." Interrupted Gimli quickly. "Did you see two hobbits with them?"

"They would be small—only children to your eyes." Aragorn cut in swiftly.

Eomer held their concerned, worried gazes with great gravity, before speaking lowly, "We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them."

He pointed to the west, where a trickling clout of smoke rose into the winter-wick sky.

"Dead? Gimli echoed, disbelieving.

The blonde horseman nodded. "I'm sorry."

Legolas gripped a comforting hand onto Gimli's shoulder, as the dwarf seemed to slowly comprehend the new knowledge. The horseman whistled to his amassed companions, a few of the riders moving to accommodate.

"Hasufel! Arod!" Two horses were pushed to the forefront of the group. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell!"

With that, the leader replaced his helmet onto his head, getting back onto his horse. The woman's eyes lingered on him, unnervingly, as if she saw into the his very soul.

He turned away, speaking to them as a whole. "Look for your friends. But do not trust to hope, it has forsaken these lands." As his gaze swept back to his men, he didn't dare meet her eyes. "We ride north!"

Sakura watched the horsemen ride into the distance, kicking up a desolate, wraith-like trail of smoke that crawled slowly along the quite plains. The leader, he was a genuine man, certainly, but it seemed that truly these darkened times had changed the entirety of the people of Middle Earth. Sakura was only beginning to summit the tip of the iceberg in regards to the importance of this quest; it seemed the more they travelled, the more they found peoples plagued by the ruins of Sauron.

She turned back to the fellowship, who had arranged themselves onto horses. She almost blanched when Gimli mounted behind Aragorn—leaving her with Legolas. But now was not the time to dwell on what seemed like such trivial matters as her personal opinion and astoundingly complex love-life, not when Merry and Pippin could very well be dead.

.

.

.

They road into the westward wind for the better part of an hour, before finally nearing the towering pile of smoke that only seemed like a thin waiflike trail from the distance.

The corpses were stacked and charred, just as the horseman had said, nothing but the burnt remains of what looked to be an enormous, blumbering army of Uruk-hai. Aragorn scoured the scene, scrutinizing every blackened body for their friends.

_They wouldn't have burned them. _Sakura thought, attempting to console herself. _Merry and Pippin look nothing like Uruk-hai—even in the dead of night those riders would know if they pulled out something that had _hair.

Then how did they not see them? Heaven forbit, did the Uruk-hai _eat _the hobbits before being killed? But that wouldn't make any sense, either, they were taking the Hobbits to Isengard, not humping them around as breakfast.

_It would have been a hectic moment, with the horseman and the Uruk-hai fighting it out… _She mused, inspecting the dirt herself. _Merry and Pippin could have gotten trampled—_

Her eyes widened.

_Or they could have gotten away._

Pace quickening, she crouched low, trailing her fingers in the softened dirt. Footmarks, yes, quite a few of them, the hooves of a horse, the slice of a sword—

The woman ducked, nimbly dodging a helmet to the face.

Near the embers, Aragorn fell to his knees, crying in anguish. Beside him, Gimli knelt as well. "We failed them." Whispered the dwarf, forlornly.

"Aragorn!" Sakura stood up then, double-taking at where the helmet had landed. "That could have taken my head off!"

She narrowed her eyes at the three of them, looking lost and like they'd given up.

"They're not dead!" She insisted to her shellshocked group. "Something must have happened to them while everyone else was fighting—I think… I think they may have gotten away!"

Aragorn looked up sharply. "What are you—

"Come here and look at these tracks." He'd probably make more sense out of it than she could. Team Seven had never really been much of a retrieval team—"I think they were laying right here."

The Ranger moved closer curiously, peering into the dirt and seeming to find the answer somewhere among the strewn grass.

"Yes, yes you're right. A hobbit lay here, and the other." He pointed to another, indistinct mark on the ground.

Sakura blinked, questioningly, following him slowly as he crouched along an invisible trail. "Their hands were bound." He murmured, before looking up. "They ran over here… they were followed."

He continued onwards, the whole fellowship following him now. "The tracks lead away from the battle!"

He broke into a run, his companions following him, until they stood at the very threshold of a dark, tenebrous forest shrouded in a thick, draping blackness that covered all but the very ends of the shrubbery.

"Fangorn." Spoke Gimli, ominously. "What madness drove them in there?"

* * *

_Well, on the upside its getting to a more climactic section. on the downside, less reviews means wayy slower updates, because then i have no motivation! so i might not get around to it until next year, or never... haha..._


	10. those who believe their home is distant

.

.

.

The overbearing, sticky humidness which clung in long, draping waves of heat only vaguely annoyed Sakura, well in comparison to the dwarf beside her, who gripped his axe as if it could possibly do any damage among the most enormous trees she'd ever seen. And that was saying something, because she had seen a hell of a lot of trees.

_It's winter. _Sakura thought, annoyed. _Why the hell is it so hot?_

Her narrowed green eyes roamed the still forest warily, as her companions trekked along in front of her. Well, Aragorn did anyway, with a stubborn gait and finesse that rivaled many a hero in her day, as Gimli plundered along beside him, axe half-raised in his hands. Legolas had stayed closer to her, seeming to understand her paranoia, as he too studied the trees closely.

_It's almost like…_

She thought of moments in snow country when the bitter wind struck like silent blows to the bone, when she and her teammates gathered in Yamato's frighteningly small wooden hut, their breath creating a hot, wet bubble around them. But that was absurd. It wasn't like trees could _breathe, _after all.

As if sensing her thoughts, Gimli spoke aloud. "The air is so close in here." He noted quietly, his voice both ringing and dulled by the thick canopy of trees.

"The forest is old." Legolas replied evenly, stepping under a low, swooping vine. "Very old. Full of memory… and anger."

Sakura snorted. "You're talking like the trees are… _sentient _or something."

The elf looked back at her, confused. After a moment wherein clearly the realization dawned on him once more that she wasn't from anywhere around here, he spoke again. "There was a time when trees roamed the Earth as we do now. Ents, they were called, and they were great and rapt with wisdom."

Sakura gave him a withering look. "That's… a little creepy."

She imagined her beloved trees besieging Konoha on their long winding trunks, and shivered.

Legolas looked back at her, a wry smile to his lips. "And I could say the same for many of the creatures we have seen with _you_."

"Large frogs." Aragorn agreed.

"Talking cats." Gimli quipped.

Legolas raised a brow. "Intelligent birds."

"The birds aren't _mine, _and most animals that I know can talk, so it really isn't all that big of a deal. And it's a _toad, _mind you, not a _frog. _Don't let Naruto catch you saying that or there very well may be hell on earth."

"Hell on earth? Whatever do you mean?" Legolas blinked at her, clearly not understanding the phrase.

"Oh, nevermind." Sakura waved him off.

"And who's '_Naruto_'?" Aragorn retorted.

For a moment, Sakura balked, for she had never encountered anything, big or small, talking animal or no, that didn't know at least in a vague sense who Naruto was. If they didn't know the boy personally—and many did, for he had a unusually loud voice and amiable, if not slightly exasperating temperament—and not of his legacy as the Fourth Hokage's child, or even just_ his legacy _in general, then they at least had some inkling of him as a Jinchuuriki.

And to think, these people didn't know Naruto.

_At all._

_But how to explain him? _Pondered Sakura thoughtfully, unsure how to even breach the surface of what was a very vast, very deep subject.

"Well… he's a close friend of mine." She decided upon, after many moments of deliberation as they treaded through the dense forest. "A teammate, actually, back when I still had a team. And he's very… eccentric. He's coming, you see, and I really hope he doesn't offend anyone. Really he's such a sweet guy, but he comes off a little blunt sometimes. He summons toads, just like I summon cats."

Legolas turned to her thoughtfully. "And all ninja can summon talking animals?"

"Not all." Sakura amended. "But many. My Sensei, one of them, anyway, can summon talking dogs. And my… well, my teammate, Sasuke, can summon Snakes." At the thought of Sasuke, a strange lump formed at the bottom of her stomach. And no, not the one that was already there, taking up most of the room. To think that he was back in Konoha, it almost _worried _her. She'd spent so much time thinking on how to _kill_ him, after thinking on how much she wanted to _marry _him, that she no longer knew how to think of him at all. Half of her wanted to give him a big hug, and the majority wanted a good, clean, left hook to the face.

_Troublesome. _She thought, for once having a distinct empathy for Shikamaru.

"Snakes," Legolas said aloud, ominously. "Such foreboding creatures."

"Yeah, Sasuke was kinda evil." Sakura agreed, airily. And then, as she thought of her tenebrous, brooding, once ex and now reinstated teammate, "Still is, I'm sure."

Aragorn blinked back at her, halting his quest for a moment. "Some day," He said finally, in a great daze, "You will have to tell us all about this world of yours."

By 'some day', she would probably be whisked back happily to Konoha, far, far away from Legolas, Middle Earth, and 'some day'. Yet she nodded anyway. "Yes, perhaps when all of this is over."

Her nostalgic thoughts on former teammates was interrupted, as the trees shook with a slight fervor, and groans reverberated through the once deathly quiet forest.

Gimli leapt at the sound, raisins his axe impossibly higher.

Legolas looked up, a crease to his brows. He looked down to Aragorn, hurriedly. "The trees are speaking to each other."

Aragorn nudged the dwarf at his side. "Gimli!"

"Huh?" The dwarf whirled around.

"Lower your axe." The ranger gestured with his hand.

The dwarf, as if it caused him great trouble, began to slowly lower his axe. Sakura supposed that, had she been his size, and never had such a fondness for trees, she'd probably have the same apprehension. But if there was one thing she knew quite a bit about, besides the art of killing and medical texts, it was trees, certainly. So, quietly as Legolas spoke to Aragorn in rapid elvish, she crouched slowly into the shadows, bent her legs, and with a shot of chakra to the legs bounded up into the high boughs of one of the trees.

So caught up in the moment, none of the three realized their only female companion missing.

"The white wizard approaches." Legolas said, with much fear.

"Do not let him speak." Aragorn commanded lowly, but sternly. "He will put a spell on us."

The wiry muscles of his elven friend tensed at the revelation that Saruman, the white wizard, was indeed in the forest with them. Slowly he drew his bow, as the ranger gripped the hilt of his sword and Gimli tightened his hold on his axe.

The two, ranger and elf, locked eyes, seeming to convey a message without words, before Aragorn addressed his two companions. "We must be quick."

With a yell, the three swung around to attack. Gimli's axe, Legola's bow, and Aragorns sword are all deflected. The Ranger dropped his sword, as it became red hot in his grasp. He had not time to pick it up, as he shielded his eyes from a powerful bright light emanating from the shadowy figure of the white wizard.

"You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits." Intoned the great wizard.

"Where are they?" Aragorn retorted, angrily.

"They passed this way the day before yesterday." Answered the White Wizard, calmly. "They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?"

"Who are you?-!" Aragorn stood then, squinting into the white light, sword in hand. "Show yourself!"

To his amazement, the bright light dims, only to reveal a familiar form that he had thought was lost to the world. Gandalf was dressed entirely in white, looking quite alive and healthy, much to the astonishment of the three travelers. Quickly they bowed at his presence.

"It cannot be." Whispered the crowned king. "You fell."

Gandalf gave him a tired smile. "Through fire an water, from the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead and everyday was as long as a life-ago of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back until my task is done."

Awed at his tale, the three could do nothing but stare wordlessly at their fallen friend.

"Gandalf…" Aragon said at last, with great reverence.

"Gandalf?" Repeated the wizard, ponderously,. "Yes, that's what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name." And, with a strange smile, "I am Gandalf the White, now. And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."

"A turn of the tide indeed." Snorted Aragorn, but his sarcastic bravado was lost in the forlorn look to his eyes. "We have lost Sam and Frodo to a more sinister path—nearly the same fate beheld Merry and Pippin, of which we still haven't found. And Middle Earth descends further into the shadow as time progresses."

"Sam and Frodo are not lost, and neither is the quest to destroy the ring." Intoned Gandalf, tranquilly. "You cannot expect from anything but a hobbit, for they are tricky creatures with much courage, and I have the utmost faith in Frodo and Sam, as I do in you, Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and as I do in all of the fellowship."

His face turned grave, as he looked at the three weary faces. "And what has happened to our dear Sakura? And Boromir? Have they fallen as well?"

At the mention of Sakura, the three companions whirled around, only to find their female companion quite, undoubtedly missing.

"Neither!" Cried Gimli. "Boromir was saved by Sakura's healing hands, and Sakura herself… why, she was just here!"

"And still am!"

Called a distinct, light voice, muted with distance.

"Sakura?" Legolas called loudly. "To where have you disappeared to?"

"I haven't disappeared." She refuted, childishly, dropping from her perch among the wreathed boughs with a graceful, balletic countenance. She stalked over to them, airily. "I was simply having a conversation with the trees."

"A conversation with the trees?" Aragorn repeated.

"Yes. They've informed me quite a bit about the happenings in Fangorn. Merry and Pippin were found by the ent, Treebeard, and are currently in his care. And also, they spoke of a charitable wizard dressed in white, called…"

She turned to the charitable wizard dressed in white, a relieved, beatific smile to her face. "Gandalf."

"Indeed it is I." Agreed Gandalf, mirth in his eyes. "And it seems the trees have kept you well informed."

"Yes!" Sakura answered brightly, giddy after her very first conversation with trees. Oh, how she would relate this tale over and over again back in Konoha, if only to see the delight and surprise in her friend's faces. "Finglas was a very kind and informative tree, though he seemed a bit more interested in the weather than he was with the happenings of his own forest…"

Gandalf smiled. "As trees are very prone to do…"

"But why now, Gandalf?" Sakura asked. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what you said to me before… did you know that you would return?"

"I had a feeling I would not be given rest until my duty to the people of Middle Earth was fulfilled." Gandalf nodded. "And frankly, I am glad for the experience. And I'm very thankful for you, Sakura, for doing what I asked. There are very few people in this world who can truly do what is asked for them, especially in a moment of great duress."

"Well thank you for saying so, Gandalf." Answered Sakura, humbly. _Though I didn't do very much, _she added silently.

"But now is not the time for the pleasantries of catching up." Said Gandalf, changing the subject abruptly onto more ominous, pressing matters. "One stage or your journey is over, another begins. War has come to Rohan. We must ride to Edoras with all speed."

.

.

.

Edoras was a quaint town on top of a hill, surrounded by many lines of wood, fenced around the winding edges of the city. She'd never seen such a city unguarded, much accustomed to the hidden villages, which, as their name implied, were quite hidden in their respective elements. Konoha in the dense canopy of the forests of Hi no Kuni, Kirigakure in the mists, Suna in the desert, Iwa in the rocky mountains… never in her life had she seen a city so blatantly _there._

_Though really, what else could they do? _She asked to herself, as their horses neared the looming city. _Rohan is just a giant plain._

Which was quite true. Had she the sight of the elves, or maybe just the Hyuuga's, she could probably see all the way to the borders of Lothlorein, the land was so flat. Flat, rocky… and empty.

_No cover._ She nodded to herself. _Ninja would hate it here._

She knew for sure that she did.

"You do not look at ease." Legolas noted.

Sakura blanched. She'd been hoping that they'd ride in relative silence, as they had when journeying to the orc corpses. But then, Legolas had been worried for the Hobbits, and his mind had been less on Sakura and more on the matters at hand. Now, though…

"I'm not fond of the open space." She explained. "It's too… well, open."

Legolas quirked a brow. "There are no plains in your realm?"

"I'm sure there are." Sakura disagreed. "But ninja certainly have never travelled through them." _Without a good Genjutsu, at least._

"Tell me more of it," He demanded, yet somehow making it sound politely curious all the same. "This world of yours."

"What is there to know?" She hedged, hesitantly.

"You tell me." He answered, vaguely.

Sakura racked her brain for anything that could be considered useless information. But she couldn't remember the last time she'd come across anything in her job that could invariably be filed under the header of, 'useless'. The term was used few and far between in the black-ops.

"How about of your home?" He began anew. "In the trees?"

"Konoha, you mean?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," Sakura thought aloud, unconsciously wrapping her arms tighter around Legolas. (While riding horses was certainly more awkward, it definitely was a lot easier.) "Well, it isn't _actually _in the trees, not like Lorein anyway, but it is hidden in a giant forest—a forest much bigger than Fangorn, though it doesn't have any talking trees. Its… well it's a lot different than here. The buildings are much bigger, there are many more people—it's almost too different to properly describe." She ended lamely, unsure of how else to end it.

The complexities of her own world, the political strife, economic flopping, trading, taxes, stock, that moron called the _Daimyo, _there was almost too much that separated the isolated, pocketed communities of Middle Earth. The elves stayed with the elves, the men with the men, and the dwarves in their mountains. And the hobbits, well, the hobbits were generally just unaware of _everything. _There certainly wasn't the bickering going on at the Kage Summit, all the scheming and alliances and petitions and laws… though Sakura wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing. Hell, she was pretty sure there wasn't even a universal form of currency, if there was any form of currency at all!

_But at least here they don't have to worry about paying healthcare. _She thought, a little morbidly. _If only because they don't have any._

"Can our worlds really be all that different?" The elf turned to face her a little more fully, and Sakura could catch the light of disappointment in the startling shade of blue in his eyes.

A little bewildered by it, she floundered for an answer. "Err—…." _Yes! _But something compelled her not to say it. "It's hard to say." She evaded. "I'm not the best… person to explain."

No, she had always been the bookworm, the one to _learn _everything. Definitely not the one to teach it.

She almost felt a little guilty, looking into his crestfallen face—and unfortunately, Legolas had quite a handsome one—a brief flicker of foreboding in her stomach as she recalled Aragorn's portending from before. About elves, and eternity…

"Well," She sighed, conceding, "I suppose that, if I could learn Middle Earth, it couldn't be much harder to learn about the Hidden Nations."

"I look forward to the lesson." The elf promised, the frank sincerity of his words hidden by the quirky smile he graced her with. How unfavorable for her that Legolas could be such a perfect creature; it was very hard to deny him of anything. Or, perhaps not so unfortunate. After all, she could only imagine how cute their child could be with Legolas' supreme looks. _And the dimples! _Sakura crowed, inwardly. What a lucky child this would be, with an elven, flawless face.

Though thinking of their future child was a most ominous topic, as that lead her to the more dreadful thought of having to tell the father… who happened to, once more, have an intimate father/baby moment of which both were unaware. Snuggled up this close to him, the slight bump that was easily covered by her clothing was pressed fully into him, which, thankfully, he wasn't aware of.

But she had already steeled herself for the conversation.

Sort of, anyway.

Considering her great ability for procrastination, inevitably Legolas would _not _be told at the next rest stop they happened across—which seemed to be Edoras, at this point—in fact, she was beginning to wonder if she could possibly get away with not telling anyone at all, which had been her original plan. Well, she supposed, it all depended on how quickly Frodo managed to make his way to Mount Doom. Considering that it was _Frodo, _the chances were slim indeed.

Though Sakura couldn't ponder on the dreaded subject any further, as Legolas jolted in front of her, his horse spooked greatly. Beside them, Aragorn and Gandalf—on his magnificent steed, who, for all his magnificence, was scared as well—both slowed also.

Sakura attempted to peer over Legolas' shoulder, where the jagged edge of Edoras peaked out slightly, but couldn't see anything from the view. She was about to move farther, when Gimli shouted,

"What in the _Valar _is that?-!"

At this, she really did have to see.

And there, in the skies above Edoras, was the Rasengan.

.

.

.

"And you thought that was a good idea?-!" Sakura shouted, flabbergasted.

They were finally—_finally _seated at an actual table, eating actual food, without anything at present to stop them from an enjoyable meal. King Theoden, who had been psychotically controlled from afar by Saruman—and Sakura could privately admit that that was pretty fucking cool, and could only think of the possibilities she could achieve if she had the same ability—was restored to his former self, and Grima, the hideous looking creature who's generally appearance resembled an albino, malformed orc, had been banished quickly from Rohan. Which left the Fellowship, plus Naruto, who apparently had been in Rohan for a few days now, to enjoy what was quickly becoming the best meal of her life.

Well, it wasn't _completely _uninterrupted.

Sakura could almost feel the metaphoric holes the Fellowship was burning at her back, most likely more than a little curious at her sunny, blonde-haired, blue-eyed companion.

Not that Sakura could really blame them. She'd been so caught up in the joy of just _seeing _Naruto that she had almost completely forgotten to explain who he was. No, the first thing she did, after stopping at the gates to Edoras, was tackle him into the biggest hug she had ever given anyone, swinging around in jovial laughter.

"Well… I didn't know what else to do!" Naruto protested. As usual, big explosions first, logical thinking later.

"Blasting a hole with the Rasengan wasn't going to solve _mind control, _baka." She pointed out, fondly annoyed. Illogical to most it may be, but to Naruto, that was the general way to solve his problems. However, that wasn't going to fix the giant hole in the king's throne room.

"I tried!" He glowered, before giving a bewildered, grossed look to the food at his plate. It was a typical Middle Earth meal, very hardy in starch and meats, and Naruto, who shared her delicate oriental tongue, seemed more than repulsed by it. "Where's the ramen in this place?"

Sakura wanted to slap her head into the table.

"Naruto," She implored. "Whatever you do, _please _don't insult anyone. I know it's kind of in your nature—

"Hey!"

"—To come off a little headstrong, and rude, I guess, but for once in your life just think before you say something, okay?" Though to that end, generally when Naruto _didn't _think and said something, he ended up inspiring a lot of people. Though at this point, they really weren't around to inspire anyone. "But this is a diplomatic mission, not a, save the world mission."

"But isn't that the whole point of the journey?" Naruto asked, confused. "To, you know, save the world?"

"Yes," Sakura agreed. "But not _us. _We're just supposed to… help out with that. This is a Middle Earth fight which needs to be won by the people of Middle Earth. We can't just get in the way of that."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully, leaning back on his bench. "Hmm… I guess that's true. If Konoha was in trouble, I guess I'd get pretty mad if some other country stepped in to save it."

"Exactly." Sakura nodded, pleased he was getting it.

"… And there's no ramen here, at all?" Naruto whispered.

"None."

He made a thoughtful face, staring ponderously into the steam wafting from his food. Why the hell he wasn't pleased with a hot meal was beyond her—anything was better than Lembas bread, and, for that matter, Soldier pills and protein bars. She herself had delved right into the food, probably eating at least enough for four, which was good, considering lately she had barely been eating enough for herself.

"Well you don't have to look too upset about it."

"It's not that." Naruto waved her off, looking lost. "It's just… I don't know if I brought enough instant ramen!"

This time, Sakura really did palm her face.

Of course he'd have a whole stash of them sealed up somewhere.

"Naruto… you're a moron."

While the two ninja were busily catching up, the Fellowship was also enjoying what was quickly becoming the second best pitstop they'd had on their quest. Perhaps even the first, depending on how much one liked elves. Legolas, honestly, was simply waiting for it all to end. And this time, hopefully Sakura wouldn't run off in the dead of night before they had a chance to speak. There was simply _so _much he wanted to speak to her about, and most of it he still didn't know how to put into words. The very idea of her once more in his life had still yet to sink in; the novelty was yet to wear off. It seemed only yesterday the shock slid down his back as he walked onto the veranda the Council was being held, seeing her in the warm, retrograde light between the leaves.

And now, after musing on her for almost an entire year the subject of his most lucid dreams was but a few feet away from him, but may as well be thousands of miles away. He'd never seen her so content-so at home-than she was animatedly chatting with her fellow shinobi. This Naruto character seemed decent enough, if a bit dim, and could only aid the Fellowship in their time of need. He was strong, surely. The very idea of blasting a hole clean through the ceiling with no weapons but the power in his arm was preposterous.

And yet apparently could be done.

The blonde had been introduced, of course, the moment they had arrived. After a grand leap into his arms Sakura had trotted over, blonde ninja in tow, to grin winsomely at the Fellowship and introduce her best friend and fellow shinobi. The elf would be lying if he didn't privately admit he was a _tad_ jealous. Not at the blonde, no, it was clear the relationship between them was strictly platonic, but of her ease and candidness around the other blonde that she had never shown with him. She was much more comfortable with Naruto, that was certain.

_And why would she not? The two have known each other for years. _Which, invariably, was much more than the scant few months the two of _them _had known each other.

"We'll have to catch up more." Sakura was saying, smiling charmingly at her blonde companion.

"What's there to catch up on?" Naruto retorted, puzzled. "It's _you _who should be filling me in, Sakura-chan! This place is too crazy man, I can't _believe _half the stuff I've seen so far! Have you seen those animals down by the gates? I swear there's gotta be a million of them around here but not a single one back home!"

"Horses, Naruto." Sakura huffed patiently, if not affectionately. "And yes I've seen them... it's incredibly difficult _not _to. But we'll get to that. I want to hear about back home! How is everyone? Ino, Hinata-chan, TenTen... hell, I'd even hear about _Lee _if you have anything to say about him." And, with a sigh, "I miss home. Everything seems so far away here."

The blonde delved head first into matters concerning people Legolas knew nothing of, and the elf quickly lost interest in the other blonde's constant chattering after that. _I miss home. _Of course she'd miss home, he thought with a stab. He'd miss home too if he was that far away, and for that long. The very idea of her home still piqued his curiosity-another matter he'd yet to divulge her of. She seemed to have a hard time speaking of it with him, and yet was quite content to discuss it with her blonde friend.

The elf stabbed his food with more force than necessary.

It was becoming clear that there was more than just a giant ocean separating the two of them.

Of course, the elf didn't know that there was something more important than distance keeping them together, too.

"-And anyway, so the moral of the story is that you don't trust Kiba with anything, because most likely by the end of the week the whole place will smell like dog shit." Naruto summed up his recourse of the week prior, in which he had entrusted their favorite canine lover to house-sit his apartment. In the end, he was left with the rank smell of dog turds, and enough hair coating the furniture to give him an allergic reaction.

Sakura seemed mildly sympathetic. "I could have told you that." She harrumphed, literally inhaling her second helping of food. Her second _generous _helping of food.

Naruto blinked forlornly at her friend. "Maybe you should slow down with that food before you end up with a stomach ulcer..."

"Trust me," She said around a mouthful of potatoes. "I need it."

And Naruto didn't even know the half of it. Not only was she completely neglecting everything her body needed aside from protein bars and the occasional lembas bread, the only nutrients her baby was getting was from the prenatal vitamins. Thank god she had remembered to pack them. This was the first time since Lothlorein that she had the opportunity to gorge herself and feast-and by hell she was going to do it.

Ugh.

Speaking of baby...

She surreptitiously eyed baby-daddy sitting not too far away. Aragorn and Gimli were chatting amiably with Gandalf, who seemed engaged in some long winded, merry anecdote. Legolas, however, seemed to be the morose center of their globular little galactic cluster, looking like he was spending more time _mangling _his food than eating it. Sakura passingly wondered what was wrong with him, before reminding herself that her efforts were better directed towards herself.

And her wavering bravado.

_I promised myself I'd tell him the next chance I got. _She prompted herself, stuffing more food and chewing viciously. _And this is this next chance._

Naruto yawned loudly. "Well, I'm turning in. This jet-lag really sucks. I can't believe its barely evening here, and yet in Konoha the sun would already be rising! I don't understand how it doesn't bother you..."

"I've been here longer." Sakura admonished lightly. "And anyway, it was a gradual change."

"I guess that's true." The blonde stood, cracking his neck. "You wanna come back with me? I have some stuff for you from Konoha."

Sakura was half-pressed to take his offer and make up some shitty excuse to postpone her inevitable meeting with Legolas, but decided better for it with a quick look in the blonde elf's direction. "I can't." She declined. "I'll get it from you tomorrow morning. It isn't much, is it?" She asked, dubiously.

Naruto grinned. "Well..."

The kunoichi shook her head. Great. He'd probably also slough off the rest of the mission reports on her, too. Lord knew they'd have to write at least a hundred pages for this one...

"Tomorrow it is then." The blonde exited with a casual wave, leaving Sakura to her fate.

_Here goes nothing. _Sakura swallowed.

"Hey." She approached their table, smiling somewhat painfully at the four of them.

"Sakura." Aragorn greeted. "We were just discussing our next course of action. Tomorrow it would be best if we were to explain to Theoden the importance of moving his people to safer ground."

The ninja blinked. "Uhm... yeah, of course."

"What's the lackey up to?" Gimli asked around his pie. Sakura almost smiled at the many bits caught in his tangled beard. "Bit of a wiry one, that lad."

"He's tired." She explained. "It's a long trip from here to Konoha... and the times are different. Back home its about to be sunrise, but here, the sun has barely set."

"How did he manage to get a hole all the way up there?" The dwarf pointed to the remnants of the roof above Theoden's throne, where the stars twinkled distantly.

Sakura sighed. "It's a bit of a long story..." One that she wasn't keen on divulging at the moment. Then again, nothing with Naruto was ever simple. She turned towards Legolas before she could get even more sidetracked, steeling herself for the inevitable. "Legolas, would you mind meeting me after dinner?"

And then, to the surprised and intrigued expressions of the rest of the Fellowship. "I, uh, was wondering if you could teach me how to use the sword your father gave me... it's a bit different than the ones back home."

Well, not that different, but there was no other legitimate sounding lie she could come up with that would logically allow the two of them to meet in private. Aside from discussing their future plans for the baby he didn't know about, of course.

"Certainly." He agreed, sounding surprised herself.

And with that, she had most certainly sealed her procrastinating fate.


	11. a space in air

_So, recently I've kind of been pointed in the ways of censorship. Now censorship and I have a long and complicated history, and mostly I tend to ignore it. I have a weird view on censorship in art, literature in particularly. I've never once picked up a book that had warnings before the text for character death or acts of violence or non-con etc, some times for the best (I personally couldn't imagine picking up Harry Potter and reading an incredibly spoiling warning before every chapter; I mean Dobby? Fred? How would you tag all that death and violence in the 7__th__ book?) and sometimes for the worst (I literally dropped the Kite Runner when I got to that part and didn't read it for weeks after) but ultimately I appreciate archive warnings and I appreciate the CHOICE for them as well. I never use them, mainly because I just never know what to tag, what to tag without ruining everything, what people would want me to tag—and it always ends up worse for me when I do… if I forget a tag people often accuse me of intentional oversight, or if I don't agree with a tag it often ends up in a lot of flaming._

_So no, I didn't use tags in this story. Though honestly I think it's a little obvious from the plot summary that pregnancy and abortion are going to be some common themes in this. And obviously they're not in any kind of established relationship, they're not married, baby out of wedlock etc._

_I'm not trying to preach a certain lifestyle over another here… I'm just writing a story for fun._

XXXXXXXX

It took Legolas a bit before he arrived at their designated meeting place; a long slab of rock that jutted over the top of the Golden Hall as a sort of marble slab. It might not have been the most practical of meeting places for 'sword practice', but it was secure, and more importantly, as private as she could probably get in a place like Edoras. Granted, she wouldn't want to misstep and fall off the edge, but the two of them weren't novices to the blade, and the fall wouldn't be particularly threatening to her anyway. She toyed around with her blade as she waited, swinging it in rapid patterns to listen to the wind whistle as the metal sliced through the air.

The movement entertained her briefly, before she paused to peer up into the stars, her eyes searching first for Polaris. It peered back down at her with a delicate twinkle, hanging on to the rest of its constellation as it swam around the moon.

Sakura made a valiant attempt to draw strength from their light—or at least, draw courage to face the result of her own foolishness. What would she say? She hadn't gotten past the, "_So, I'm really sorry and all…_" Prequel to her monologue. But try as she might, she really couldn't find any tactful way to say it. _I'm going to be your baby mama? _That's how Ino would say it.

Hell, Sakura snorted, even _Ino _wouldn't have gotten herself into this situation; and _everyone_ knew what a closet slut Ino was.

But, for the first time, her thoughts strayed _past _this moment of honesty, and into the shrouded, unforgiving future. Would she just… leave? She tried to imagine Legolas' reaction when she would reaffirm the fact that she was, indeed, going to leave Middle Earth after this mission, pregnant self and all. Would he demand custody for the baby? She could already feel the headache of a vicious custody battle coming on—how would they split the child? It's not like it could just switch parents on the weekends. Would she give it up voluntarily to him?

_It wouldn't be a bad life for it, _She supposed idly, tossing her blade into the air and ducking through a taijutsu set, catching it deftly and moving through the motions. _It'd be like, a prince or something. Princess. Elven Princess._

That was pretty cool, she decided. It'd be better than having to stick around in her studio apartment, with an absentee mother who was constantly out on missions.

But it wasn't like she hadn't thought of kids, or hadn't wanted them. She did, and she had. She'd had those girlish dreams of white-paper weddings and pastel baby dresses, oversized stuffed teddy bears and cute little knit hats. She'd always imagined herself retired by then—or at the very least, not an active ANBU operative. Maybe even as a full-time doctor at the hospital. Then, at least, she'd work some predictable hours.

To that end though, she hadn't thought on them recently, or in any other regard aside from the abstract.

_It'd be better off here. _She decided, tentatively.

She had enough foresight to know she'd make an awful mother, anyway. She didn't have a single maternal bone in her body.

Sakura halted her taijutsu, easing out of her crouch to stand straight, contemplating the stars again. It sounded like as good an idea as any—now all she had to do was tell Legolas.

But speaking of Legolas, where was he?

"It's not like him to be late." She noted with a frisson of concern. In all her time in his presence, this tour through Middle Earth and the last, he'd always been incredibly punctual—almost to a fault, really. It was never becoming to be _too _predictable with punctuality (at least for ninja)… probably one of the best lessons Kakashi had ever taught her.

She went looking for him anyway, turning back to towards the stairs that lead into the hall. Halfway down she was taken by surprise by the elf himself, briskly walking up the stairs.

"Sakura!" He sounded unnecessarily relieved at finding her, considering she'd told him where she's be. "I apologize for my tardiness—Aragorn chose the _most _inopportune moment to speak to the king… at any rate, he's evacuating the city. We must hurry to assist with the pilgrimage to Helm's Deep."

"Wait… what?" She blinked. "Repeat that."

Legolas smiled at her, as if he could somehow find her slowness appealing. "Aragorn and Gandalf have been persuading the King to take his people to the great fortress of Helm's Deep—they believe an attack by Sauron to be imminent."

"Is it?"

"Oh, undoubtedly so." Legolas nodded. "Which is why the evacuation has begun immediately. We're needed at the front; your friend Naruto is already there… he is… most curious."

That startled a laugh out of her. "Well, that's certainly a nice way of putting it."

He proffered his hand, and she took it, for once without any caution. Half of her was annoyed that she'd made such a fuss of summoning up all her courage—only for events not created by herself to once again waylay her long delayed conversation. The rest of her was simply relieved. Another opportunity, swiftly avoided.

The downstairs was utter chaos; the inhabitants of the hall in a riotous cacophony of noise and movement. Frightened mother's tending to their equally frightened children, men barking commands over each other and the clanking of weaponry, the movement of belongings and supplies as they passed through the hall all so overwhelming Sakura had to stop for a moment to take in the sight, Legolas deftly pulling her along through the crowds.

Out on the stoop of the Hall, a stout man was commanding out orders over the din. "By order of the king, the city must empty! We make for the refuge of Helm's Deep. Do not burden yourselves with treasures! Take only what provisions you need!"

Quite clearly not a soul was paying him any mind, for all the residents of Edoras seemed intent on taking everything they could carry with them, pets included.

Legolas pulled her around him, marching over to where Aragorn and Gimly stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for them.

"Helm's Deep!" Gimli scowled, in way of greeting. "They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight! Who will defend them if not their king?"

Aragorn shook his head, moving towards a weathered path and motioning for all of them to follow. "He's only doing what he thinks is best for his people." The human protested to the dwarf vehemently, in defense of the king. Sakura supposed this discussion must strike quite the chord with Aragorn—what with him being a king and all as well. It would explain his sudden fervor. "Helm's Deep has saved them in the past."

Aragorn lead them into the stables, where Naruto and Gandalf were already gearing up horses. Well, Gandalf was gearing up horses—Naruto didn't seem to be doing anything particularly productive.

Sakura rolled her eyes, moving to assist the blonde ninja in dressing the horse. "You've never done this before—why are you pretending you have?"

Naruto pouted. "It looked fun."

She adjusted the riding straps and fitted the saddle properly, turning to Naruto with a look of fond annoyance. "Please, try not to fall off."

Naruto scoffed. "Never!"

"There is no way out of that ravine." Gandalf snorted, loudly, causing Sakura to turn and pay attention to the Fellowship's conversation. The great wizard sighed then, turning to address the fellowship, but more so, Sakura thought, he was directing his words toward Aragorn. "Theoden is walking into a trap—he thinks he's leading them to safety. But what they will get is a massacre. Theoden has a strong will… but I fear for him… I fear for the survival of Rohan. He will need you al lbefore the end. The people of Rohan will need you. The defenses _must _hold."

"They will." Aragorn swore.

Gandalf turned towards Shadowfax, stroking the immaculate horse. "The Grey Pilgrim…" He said softly, almost to himself. "That's what they used to call me. Three hundred lives of men I've walked this earth and now I have no time."

_Three hundred…? _Sakura gaped.

Jesus, if Orochimaru had wanted immortality that badly he should've just become a wizard.

The wizard mounted his horse. "With luck, my search will not be in vain. Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East. Now, Naruto, hurry. We must make haste."

Naruto nodded seriously, moving to mount his own horse.

"Wait!" Sakura cried, panicked.

Naruto looked down at her curiously.

She swallowed. "Don't… Don't go." She protested, quietly. "Send a Kage Bunshin. But stay here."

"Sakura?" Naurto whispered back, his eyes darting to the Fellowship, who all looked on curiously. "Why?"

She shifted uneasily, swallowing around her dry throat. "It's just… there's going to be a battle, right? At Helm's Deep?"

Naruto nodded.

"Well, don't you think it'd be better for _you _to be there?" She pointed out. "If anyone's got the firepower for that sort of mess, it'd be you. You'd do more good in a battle like that than just riding off for reinforcements."

The blonde blinked. "Huh. Hadn't thought of that."

_This is why I'm the strategist, _She thought wryly.

Naruto threw up the seal for the Kage Bunshin, a clout of smoke appearing on his horse instead of him as a powerful clone. The fellowship, if possible, looked even _more _curious as two Naruto's peered back at them. Sakura realized belatedly that this was the first time any of them had seen the clone technique. Granted, she'd used many a clone in her first stay here—but she'd been keen to keep the shinobi techniques secret. She supposed it was something of a moot point, though. The people of Middle Earth didn't have chakra anyway, and wouldn't care to steal secret hidden village techniques.

"Naruto's going to stay and help defend Helm's Deep." She explained. "…And he'll also ride with Gandalf."

Gimli blinked, sputtering, pointing widely between the two blondes. "But you… you were, and now you're…"

"It's a ninja technique." Legolas explained, amused. He, at least, had seen it many a time. "The user can make a shadow of himself. Or, in some cases, many shadows."

"Yes." Sakura agreed. "But they're just that: shadows. They're not actually a double of the real person—however, a clone should be enough to assist Gandalf. I think, given Naruto's… certain skill set, he'll be more of an asset at the stronghold."

"If you think that's best." Aragorn said mildly. He didn't seem upset that she was refuting the Fellowship's decision to have Naruto travel with Gandalf. More than anything, he looked fascinated.

The King of men and the Grey Wizard shared a long look that Sakura couldn't quite decipher, before the elder man rode off into the darkness on his luminous horse.

.

.

.

Though Sakura had been astute in her observation, the real heart of the matter was that she had a deeper, more selfish reason for Naruto to stay with the Fellowship. The idea of a battle—a real, true Middle Earth battle, fitted with legions of orcs and men, crashing into each other with arrows and swords and cannons alike—terrified her. Well, she wasn't precisely terrified for _herself, _but for _it. _Legume, the lovechild, the strange tailed-fetus thing currently taking most of her nutrients for itself, whatever she likened to call it at the moment.

She simply _couldn't, _in good conscious, participate in the event, as much as her sense of duty may call for it. It was one thing to travel across the country side, perhaps occasionally delving into a skirmish or two (Moria didn't count. Nowhere in the mission description did something like Moria ever come up) and entirely another to voluntarily engage in a battle of this scale.

She eyed Legolas, some paces away. Ahead of him was Aragorn, who seemed to be sharing a… weirdly intimate conversation with the fair-haired daughter of the King. The Fellowship was undoubtedly going to question her decision—and she'd have to tell them the truth.

Which was an event she wasn't particularly looking forward to, but an inevitability all the same.

And anyway, she had full faith and confidence in Naruto's capabilities. Total moron he may be, but he was an unquestionably talented ninja and one of the most powerful shinobi in the hidden nations—if not _the _most. Hell, the only reason he wasn't Hokage was just a question of maturity. And that was mostly a waiting game… already, when she thought of the Naruto of a few years ago in comparison to the Naruto before her the contrast was striking. Naruto of a few years ago would have been benched for a diplomatic mission like this—but the Naruto of today was… actually being weirdly tactful. Still loud and occasionally naïve, but ultimately it seemed to be more endearing to the people of Middle Earth than aggravating.

Even right now, he was charming the pants off a group of teenage girls, telling some long winded story, hand gestures and all. Although, the more accurate term may be, '_fondly _aggravated'. He certainly had the way with people.

Still, Sakura was just glad for his presence in general.

Although, even more so than the Fellowship, (and maybe even Legolas), she was worried about what _he _would say.

Legolas, at least, she'd understand—whatever his reaction may be. And she'd feel like shit and she'd deserve it, and at the end of it all they may part amiably or with great animosity but at the end of the day they had an _ending. _The mission had an ending. Naruto… Naruto was her best friend in the entire world. No, even more than that. He was her _brother. _There was no other person on this earth whose opinion she valued more than Naruto's, and the idea of him being upset with her already made her stomach churn. Only two things upset Naruto in any serious capacity—Injustice, and people who abandon their comrades… and stale ramen, but Sakura doubted that was really relevant in conjunction with his moral barometer.

Fortunately she didn't think on this for much longer, as Gimli and Eowyn slow enough for Sakura's horse to match their gait, drawing her into a conversation between them and Aragorn.

"—It's true, you don't see many Dwarf women, and in fact they're so alike in voice and appearance, that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men!"

Aragorn waggled his brows, and Sakura smiled with helpless adoration for her dwarven friend. He gestured to Eowyn, and when she leaned toward him he whispered, loud enough for Sakura to hear, "It's the beards."

Sakura snorted.

"And this, in turn," Gimli continued on, having not noticed the interruption, or perhaps just ignoring it. "Gave rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women—and that dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!"

"They don't?" Sakura feigned shock.

"Oi there!" Gimli pointed wildly at her, careening backwards on his horse. "Nothing from you, Lassie! Ye of little faith!"

He turned to Eowyn, quite serious. "Don't listen to her nonsense. This is, of course, absolutely ridiculous—_whoa!_

They laugh uproariously as the horse suddenly reared up, and the dwarf slid down off it's rump and was promptly deposited on the ground. "That was deliberate!" He shouted, as he struggled up from the ground.

"Of course." Sakura agreed, with good nature. She held a hand to assist him back onto his horse. "Perhaps you and horses don't get along because you were born from rock—and simply weren't meant for them!"

"I was born from no such thing!" Gimli retorted, hotly.

"We believe you, Gimli." Eowyn smiled enchantingly. "Dwarven women exist." She turned merrily towards Sakura. "Isn't that right, Sakura?"

"Yes, yes it is." She agreed solemnly. "That they do."

The blonde's eyes slid towards Aragorn, and in that moment something paralyzed between them. Sakura blinked, wondering if she was simply catching a stray fracture of light, or if there had really been something between the two of them. Signs pointed towards the latter, as color rose quickly to Eowyn's fair cheeks, and she turned smarly towards the front. Aragorn gazed upon her for some time after with a glance too somber to have simply been a trick of light.

Sakura looked between the two of them, a little surprised, and mostly bewildered.

Was there something going on? But Sakura was sure she'd heard of some sort of scandalous relation between the lovely elf Arwen and the rugged, handsome King of men. Or perhaps the tryst was over? Or was he reconsidering his choices?

She supposed it really wasn't any of her business—but she contemplated all the same.

After all, musing on everyone else's business was surely better than musing on her _own._

.

.

.

Naruto proved his worth easily enough—but in the end, it hadn't been enough to save Aragorn.

"There's no time!" One of the Rohirrim, Hamla, argued with the blonde ninja. "It's imperative to get these people to the stronghold—after, we can search for the body—

"No!" Naruto roared in refusal. Sakura wasn't in the least surprised with his vehement protestation of this; if there was one thing Naruto valued above all other shinobi law, it was never leaving a comrade behind. This entire ordeal went strictly against his policy. "You don't understand. I _can't _leave a teammate behind… and Aragorn is a teammate!"

Hamla scowled. "At the cost of all these people? You would condemn them to death?"

"There's always a way!" Naruto retorted, his ire a great inflection to his voice.

"Hold on!" Sakura cut in, ever the peace maker. "I think I have an idea."

She bit her thumb, swiftly moving through hand seals. "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"_

She was aware she had an audience from the murmuring behind her at the ninjutsu. A clout of smoke erupted from the ground at her feet, and out of the shroud a large female lynx glided out of the cloud. Sakura blinked. She'd never managed to summon one of the stronger summons of her clan: her pelt shivered in speckled silver and white, gleaming in the washed out sunshine like her luminescent green eyes.

"Can I help you?" The lynx narrowed her eyes, haughtily. Still as insubordinate as ever though, Sakura thought almost fondly.

She moved towards the cliff, picking up a tattered cloth where Aragorn had fell, and proffering it towards the large cat. She docilely sniffed the material, making a pinched expression at the smell. Sakura doubted anything in Middle Earth would smell pleasant, though.

"I need you to track down the owner of this smell." Sakura commandeered. In response, the lynx blinked languidly.

And then, like an incredibly put-upon teenager, rolled its shoulders and sniffed around the ground. It maundered about for a little bit, before moving towards the edge of the cliff.

"The scent falls at the river." The lynx noted, blandly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yes, I figured as much."

The cat looked back at her, and she at it.

Finally, at great length. "You want me to go in there."

Sakura nodded.

"I'm a cat."

"You'll get over it."

The feline scowled, turning its cheek and cleaning its paw with more pretentiousness than Sakura had thought possible from an animal.

"I'm serious here." Sakura frowned. "Look, I know your clan doesn't like me—why you took a contract with me when you don't still, to this day, baffles me. But I need you to do this for me. The owner of this cloth is a dear friend of mine and I refuse to believe he's dead."

The cat's big eyes peered at her owlishly, an indecipherable expression to it's face. "Fine." She said, with great reluctance, sitting up from her haunches to expend a great leap over the cliff. It dropped into the torrenting water below, and within seconds it's bobbing white head erupted out of the rapids, paddling downstream.

Sakura turned back to the Rohirrim gathered.

"If there's any chance of finding him—it's with the cat."

Hamla opened his mouth, stunned.

Naruto pursed his lips, still looking unsatisfied.

"There's nothing else we can do." Sakura started, before he could speak to voice his dissent. "These people need to get to safety; Aragorn wouldn't want us to endanger them for him."

"You're right." Naruto sighed. And then, whining, "Could you please stop being so rational? You make me feel dumber than usual."

She patted his back. "Naruto, I really don't think that's possible."

Legolas watched her with beseeching eyes, turning his horse to trot over to her, her own horse's reigns in hand.

"Sakura," He greeted. "What of Aragorn?"

She shook her head. "He fell off the cliff."

His face turned grim.

"I don't think the fall was fatal." Sakura refuted hastily. Considering her cat summon had jumped off voluntarily. And if there was one thing she'd learned about her summons, it was that they valued self-preservation above all else. If there was even a shadow of a doubt in the Lynx's mind it could have died from the jump it wouldn't have even attempted it.

Legolas sighed. "Even so," He said with graveness, "I fear for his health. A fall like that couldn't have been painless."

"There is that." Sakura agreed, taking the offered reigns in his hand and mounting her own horse once more.

Eowyn trotted up soon thereafter, Gimli in tow. "What of the ranger?" The dwarf boomed, fearful. "Is it true what the Rohirrim whisper of? He fell to his death?"

"We don't know yet." Sakura answered. "But, it _is _Aragorn, lets have some faith, huh? And you were teasing _me _of being of little faith."

That, at least, got her a small smile for her troubles.

She could see why they were so troubled, though. Aragorn was, aside from a dear friend, a little too important to the fate of Middle Earth to die.

.

.

.

Down to just two, the remains of the Fellowship were tense and disquieting during King Theoden's last minute battalion planning meeting. Sakura didn't blame them. She herself wasn't in particularly good spirits, either. What with her upcoming withdrawal from the battle. She spent most of the discussion attempting to maneuver the spotlight more onto Naruto, and less on to her. It was made difficult, however, by the presence of the elves, all of which exalted her tales with great exaggeration and regale; enamoring all who cared to listen.

Which was a lot of people, as it were.

"No, no." She waved her hands. "It wasn't—I didn't—" She turned to Legolas, pleading for assistance.

"The tales are over stretched." Legolas agreed, much to her relief. However, he followed the statement with, "This isn't to say that there is no merit to these stories, however. Sakura is an incredibly force in battle; we're fortunate to have her."

"Is it true you can leap from wall to wall without a step to the ground?" One Rohirrim asked, delightedly.

"And what of walking on water? Is that true as well?"

"Well yes, they are true," She answered reflexively. And then, "But it's not as grand as you might think! And at any rate, I don't know how that will be of any assistance to us in a battle like this…"

"And upturning the Earth? You can do that to?"

"With your _fists_?"

"I heard she can do it with but a single toe, too—

"Oh, enough!" She scowled. She flew up a hand in Naruto's direction. "He can do _all _that—and then make a thousand copies of himself to do it too!"

"Sakura!" Naruto yelped, flushing red.

She ignored him, turing back towards those assembled. "Look, not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but I think we're getting a little off topic. It's unwise to center an entire battle plan surrounding one—or two—people; what if something happens to Naruto or I? I think the original plan was best. Board the openings and man the towers with archers. We'll have the upper ground, at least. We should maximize our capabilities with the catapults and try to maintain the vantage for as long as possible. Use the stronghold to our advantage."

"Lassie's right." Gimli agreed. "Relying on just the two of them is folly!"

"But it will be good to have them regardless…"

Sakura let the proceedings wash over her, pinching the bridge of her nose. This whole mess was giving her a riotous headache—and the nervousness over having to reveal that no, in fact, she wasn't participating in the battle was only making it infinitely worse—and she closed her eyes and attempted to tune it out. She succeeded moderately, to the point she didn't even notice Legolas moving towards her until he was gently pressing against her forehead with probing fingers.

Her eyes snapped open, and he was _right there. _She almost recoiled in shock.

"Are you feeling unwell?" He asked quietly, concern marring his features (although somehow, it managed to mar them in _the most attractive way possible_).

"Fine." She nodded, dazedly.

And then, "Wait. Actually, no. I'm not okay."

The concern doubled immediately. He knelt beside her, brows furrowed. "Are you ill? Is it your head? Your stomach? Perhaps you haven't had enough water…"

"Oh, no, I don't think it's anything like that." She protested, catching his hand to stop him from fussing. "Listen, do you think we could talk somewhere? Somewhere that's not…" She looked around, and then tried to make a universal symbol for 'someplace quiet' that didn't look like 'someplace quiet to fuck'.

Fortunately, he seemed to accurately decipher her vague hand gestures. "Yes, of course."

He spoke quietly to Gimli, and Naruto, who was seated beside the dwarf, turned to look at her curiously. Oh god, Naruto. She waved him off worriedly, hoping he wouldn't jump loudly with questions and alert everyone in the room. She was hoping to keep this discreet. To her great relief, he only nodded and turned back to studiously attempting to pay attention.

Legolas turned back to her, rising with a soundless grace and motioning to an adjacent hallway.

"Sakura, what is it?" He asked, worried, once they were a moderate distance away from the crowd. "Are you injured? Did it happen in the fight?"

"What? No, that's not it." She shook her head. "It's not—

"Will you be able to fight later? Do you need a healer?" He pressed on.

"Uh—no. No healer. And no fighting."

"Perhaps all you need is a bit of rest, maybe some food. We haven't had much rest in the past few days and—" He blinked, her words catching up to him. "You're not?"

And then, "What do you mean, 'no fighting'?"

"…I mean, no fighting. I'm not fighting."

"In the battle? But—

"I'm not going." She interrupted. "I can't participate in the battle. I'll assist the women and children and escort them to safety, and protect them if need be, but I can't be on the front lines."

"Why not?" He asked, baffled. "Sakura, we'll need your assistance… _greatly. _That you've included Naruto here is a great turning in our favor, however more than one ninja would be a great help to our side—

"Oh, you'll find he's most certainly more than _one _ninja." She refuted, amused. "But regardless, I can't."

He watched her, perplexed. "_Why_?"

"I'm pregnant."

Emotions flickered over his face, too fast to be more than imperceptible movements across his face, like patterns of light shifting over him. Finally, they settled onto something like shock. "But when…" And then, swallowing, "Is it mine?"

"Yes." There really wasn't anything else she could say to that.

"How long?" He stepped closer, a hand coming to brush against her arm as he looked her up and down, something like wonder in his eyes. He dropped his questing fingers, and then made another move to reach out to her, before hesitating. "When did you find out?"

"Three months, or around that time." She trembled, closing her eyes. "And… I knew the whole time."

"You—" His throat worked, but nothing came out. His eyes were wide and grave. "Why? Sakura… what?"

"I… I found out when I went back home. I didn't think I'd ever come back and then—well, I answered Gandalf's summoning… I thought it would be at least polite to decline in person. But when I heard about the fate of your world… I knew I had to help. I hadn't thought… I honestly hadn't thought it'd be as dangerous as it was, but to that end, I also knew it wouldn't have been easy."

"But—this whole time? Sakura, this is absolute madness. So many opportunities when you could have… I could've lost _both _of you, and I wouldn't have even known it!"

"I know." She agreed, solemn, eyes guiltily downcast. "And I'm sorry for that."

Color rose to his cheeks—more emotion gathering on his face than she thought she'd ever seen. He looked… not angry, per say. But upset. Distressed.

"This is—" He paused, sucking in a deep breath as if to reorder his thoughts. "This is such a precious gift, don't you see? To endanger a child so recklessly is utter insanity. You should have said something sooner. You should have… —it was entirely remiss for you to even embark on this journey in the first place! What were you thinking? _Were_ you even thinking?" He reprimanded fiercely.

"Not really, no." She answered, frankly. And then, thoughtful, "I'm really not—I haven't really thought about it, haven't I? Going about this mission anyway, without any significant care for my wellbeing-, or at least not any more than usual… it is rather reckless, isn't it? And endangering. But the real fact of the matter is I'd make an awful mother. I think it's quite plain to see, given the circumstances already."

Legolas blinked, brows furrowing. "No, Sakura, that wasn't what I—

"I think you should take it." She cut him off, imploringly.

"What?"

"The baby. When it's born." She elaborated. And, to his blank stare, she shrugged. "It's not like I could… I'm no mother, Legolas. I simply can't…"

She struggled for words. "Listen, the fact of the matter is, I haven't really given it a fair chance, and that's the truth. If I was really invested in it's well-being I would have never accepted this mission in the first place. I wouldn't have even come to Middle Earth—I would have stayed in my Hidden Village, with free-maternity care and a working hospital and oh, I don't know, prenatal vitamins and monthly checkups! But I didn't, is the thing. I wasn't think about it at all, aside from the physical hindrance I'd have to take account for on the mission, which really isn't the way you should think about a baby."

"So, I think, if you'd like, you should… you should take it."

"But you… you are it's _mother_." He pointed out, shocked. "You cannot simply—simply abandon it!"

"I'm not abandoning it." She refuted. "I'm giving it to you. This child… well, it will be half of you. It'll be an elf! It should stay here, with it's people."

"And ninja aren't it's people?" Legolas retorted. "Sakura you cannot just leave the child here. Children belong with their mother." He blinked, and as if the thought just came to him, "…Are you not allowed? Is there some sort of law against ninja children? Or children not fostered by ninja?"

"No, nothing like that." She backtracked hastily. "But, to that end, ninja children are few and far between. We simply don't live a lifestyle compatible with child rearing. Yes, of course I could take the child… but I don't think it would be fair to it. It'd have a better life here, I think, with you and your family and your people. Unless, of course, you don't want it…"

"That's not it at all!" The elf protested. "My people… my people will _rejoice _at the coming of an heir to the throne. My father will be absolutely ecstatic—they would all welcome it with open arms. I cannot even begin to think of the celebration that will occur with this news. However, I don't think a child should be without its mother."

"Well I can't stay here." Sakura retorted flatly, with absolutely no room for discussion.

He looked as if he was going to say something, before he shook his head, sighing. "Yes… I understand that."

Something like sadness warred with the emotions on his face. Finally he sighed, brows furrowed. "This isn't the time for a discussion like this."

"You're right." Sakura agreed, hastily. "You're absolutely, absolutely right. We'll talk more about it later when, you know, legions of Uruk-hai aren't about to come crashing down on us."

"Legions," Legolas repeated with a laugh, somewhat hysterically. "_Legions. _Tens of thousands. Yes, you are correct. We must speak of this further, when our lives aren't up for forfeit."

She smiled a little hesitantly, unsure of their standing. This had gone… infinitely better and infinitely worse than how she had imagined it.

He was looking away, examining the rock and yet looking right past it. She could only imagine what was going through his head—concern for the future, most likely. They were fighting for the fate of his world right now, for the fate of their _lives. _For the idea of his future that she'd probably completely upended.

She didn't expect his hand to reach out and grab hers; a gentle and warm grip. His thumb smoothed across the thin skin of her inner wrist, and he pulled her forward just enough to press his lips lightly against her temple.

"You must stay safe. Go with the women and children, into the deeps. Help them. But if the battle does not turn in our favor, if the forces of Saruman have overtaken us… do not linger there. You must escape. I know you are capable of it, I have seen you move rocks to your whim before; do not fear for us. You must save yourself. You _must._"

"I understand." She answered, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I will." She choked. "I promise."

He moved away, looking down at her, and this time, she did absolutely nothing to stop the inevitable. She turned her head up, almost defiantly brushing her lips against his. He didn't deny her, arms wrapping to envelop her fully, his mouth wonderful and warm on hers.

"Legolas—" She mumbled, barely getting his name out before his mouth swooped down again to cover hers.

"I know, I know." He murmured against her lips. "But just… just for a moment. Let's have this, just for a moment."

She nodded, tilting her head and delving the kiss deeper, hands unwinding into his long and unnecessarily glorious hair, which still made her silently bemoan her own. Did he really always have to be so… perfect? Granted, his perfect was only suiting her interests at the moment, but it only furthered the sinking feeling in her stomach. But what the fuck, she wasn't going to think about that right now. No, right now was awesome. Right now was the best. Right now was like that night three months ago that, now that she was allowing herself to reminiscence, was an experience she'd love to repeat.

You know, aside from the whole, 'fate of the world resting upon us, also surprise baby, etc'.

Sakura pulled away, and Legolas let her, his hands dipping in to cup her cheeks, thumbs rubbing slow circles beneath her eyes. He was smiling.

"We will… we will come out from the other end of this, and we are going to _talk _about this, afterwards, when Middle Earth is safe and we are no longer in danger of being _constantly interrupted _by Saurons minions." She choked on a laugh, an involuntary smile on her face that matched his own. He was definitely getting a little hysterical. "We'll figure this out. Come up with… something, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded frantically, not sure if she was saying this out of any ounce of truth or simply just as hysterical as him, feeling like she could say anything in the world with a battle like this before them.

He kissed her again, and she kissed back, at this point practically melting into his arms. This was so stupid. She was so stupid. She couldn't have picked a worse opportunity to be having this emotional moment.

"Legolas!"

They broke apart swiftly, as an elfen archer came tumbling into the stairwell, breathless. Legolas straightened into an admirably professional pose, considering there circumstances a few seconds ago. The elf whispered something urgently, and even if it was louder Sakura wouldn't have been able to understand it anyway. Legolas' eyes widened. He responded, and the archer left quickly.

"What?" She asked immediately, unable to curb her curiosity.

Legolas' smile could blind a person at point blank range. He really ought to put a sensor on that thing, she thought, dazed in the face of it. This close, it was almost lethal.

"Aragorn." He breathed, eyes alight. "He's alive."


	12. vagrancy

_Oh, backtrack. Anticlimactically—the elves from Lothlorien did not make a dramatic appearance right before the battle. They came a little early, because they are punctual and logical and decided it would be good to have some time to settle and plan before showing up. Also, I am in no means a Tolkeinite—what I know comes from the movies and the books. All the backstory and history is pretty much lost upon me, so if I'm wrong about the elves, forgive me, I'm making it up._

* * *

Sakura figured it was only a matter of time before Aragorn found her.

She absentmindedly rubbed a hand down the side of the hawk's wing. The bird shivered beneath her questing fingers, shaking out its feathers. Neji's hawks always seemed to like her, for some unfathomable and unexplainable reason. Considering her own summons didn't even like her all that much, she had no idea why the birds took to her so well. She should have went with a bird summons, the kunoichi digressed. Why in the hell did she have to be so enamored with cats.

His letter didn't approach anything that could even be considered legitimate—as usual, he was vague and somewhat condescending. She had, however, managed to discern that the political upheaval in Gondor was escalating rapidly.

The bird cooed into her shoulder, and she tucked her reply into the clasp upon its leg. She'd written in response that Gandalf and a Naruto clone were coming for assistance—how much assistance they would provide, she didn't know. Naruto: probably none at all. The blonde didn't have a diplomatic bone in his body. Gandalf, however, could have some amount of success.

The Ranger approached near silently from the staircase below, just as Sakura tossed the hawk into the air.

It banked up in the wind above her, circling once, twice, before it lifted off into the stratosphere.

She watched the smudge of color until it was almost indiscernible from the tumultuous sky, if only to keep her attention away from the Ranger behind her.

"And here I thought you couldn't possibly complicate matters further." He greeted, wryly. "You certainly have a way of being surprising."

"Thanks." She replied, acerbically, folding her arms against her chest.

He sighed. "You didn't have any intention of saying anything at all, did you?" It wasn't much of a question, if Aragorn had already deduced that much.

Light footsteps trotted up the stairs after him, and Sakura turned her head to see her Lynx slinking gracefully around the Ranger's legs. She noted with stilted disbelief that the cat affectionately rubbed its head into the man's kneecap as it passed, and rolled her eyes in exasperation. Why the hell did her summons seem to like everyone _but _her?

The Lynx shook out its silvery pelt, moving to sit on its haunches in front of Sakura. It drew a paw to its mouth and began to clean it languidly.

Sakura diverted her attention back to Aragorn. "No." She agreed. "Not really."

The man frowned. "Then why _did_ you?"

Sakura had figured she'd be in for the lecture of a lifetime when Aragorn inevitably found out; something like Neji's but a thousand times worse. He was being… strangely analytical about this, though. Sakura supposed she really shouldn't be too surprised though, Aragorn _was _the most level-headed, logical person she'd ever met. She'd never once seen him get irrational, or too emotional—he never let anything cloud his judgment. She should have expected that he wouldn't lose his temper over this, either.

He'd make a very good King someday,

She shrugged. "It was becoming fairly clear that I wouldn't make it out of here in time."

"Before you couldn't keep it a secret any longer?"

"Well, it does start to get a little obvious." She retorted, dryly.

Aragorn furrowed his brows, looking her up and down. "It hasn't, for you. And you are already many weeks along? I should think you could have lasted some months yet."

With a flicker of chakra, the genjutsu dissolved before his eyes. His expression would have been funny had she not been in such a sour mood.

"Like I said," She reiterated. "Obvious."

He blinked. "An illusion?"

She nodded. "But it won't hold for much longer. I'm no master." And then, a little distantly, "He deserves to know, don't you think?"

"He does." Aragorn agreed. And then he sighed. "Unfortunately, this only makes the entire situation… even more complicated."

Yeah, but she already knew it was kind of a total shitshow.

When she had no response, he began anew, "You plan to return to your home?"

"Yes."

There was nothing else she could say to that, no excuse to give. The Lynx put down its paw, disappearing in a clout of smoke. Sakura's face twisted into a grimace when she thought of how Naruto's summons did the same—and by extension, the blonde ninja himself.

"Have you told Naruto?" She asked.

"Naruto?" Aragorn repeated. "No, I have not. I did not think it was my place to say." And then, almost disbelievingly, "You mean to say you have not?"

She gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah, you see, I'm kind of waiting for the most appropriate time."

"You may be waiting for some time, then." Aragorn snorted.

She sighed. Yeah. That was kind of the problem. She could probably wait until the baby had come and gone and she _still _wouldn't have found 'the right time'—she'd just show up at his flat with a baby in arm and say, "Surprise?" That shouldn't have been as humorous as she found it; clearly, she was already getting a little hysterical.

She shook her head, attempting to clear her mind. With renewed focus, she finally took in Aragorn's appearance. He looked… well, he looked like he'd gotten mauled by attack dogs, and then fell off a cliff.

This wasn't an entirely inaccurate assessment.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, stepping forward to appraise him with a medic's eye.

He looked down at himself, as if his appearance was a recent acquisition, and he hadn't been lost to the wilds for the past couple days. "Well." He answered, though clearly he wasn't fooling anyone.

She rolled her eyes, and moved to stand in his space. She grabbed his hand before he could protest otherwise, flipping their linked fingers until hers were atop of his. The seal on the back of her hand flared to life; spindly, glowing blue lines cobwebbing from the spiraling kanji that spread from her wrist. Aragorn watched with fascination as the burning blue pattern moved down Sakura's fingertips, and lit in Aragorn's own hand with a strange tingling sensation. He'd never felt anything like it: it was odd, surely, and peculiar. But not in a bad way.

Sakura was not looking at their joined hands. All her attention was diverted to the wounds covering him; watching with a clinical eye as a large gash over his chest began to knit itself back together.

He hadn't even noticed them healing, too caught up in trying to categorize the unnatural, numbing sensation crawling into his bones.

She let go suddenly, and like breaking from a trance he heaved a large breath, eyes blinking rapidly.

She eyed him clerically. "Feeling better?"

With wonder, he lifted an arm, turning it over. The sleeve of his tunic was still badly ripped and torn, but the skin beneath had healed of all its cuts and gashes.

He turned back to her, somewhat mystified. "That magic is incredible."

"Not magic." She shook her head mirthfully, but didn't bother to explain the intricacies of chakra medical seals to him. She wouldn't even know where to start.

"You'll have to tell him eventually." Aragorn returned to their previous conversation, austere.

Sakura looked away. "I know."

And then, biting her lip. "After." She promised. "I'll tell him after. I don't want to distract him."

"Yes. That's probably for the best." Aragorn agreed. He shifted his weight. "Sakura… you must understand…"

She turned her eyes back to him, searching his face. He looked like he swallowed something sour; or alternatively, he looked like he was about to say something rather unpleasant. Neither option was all that appealing.

He took a breath, held it; and then released it in one fell swoop, all his determination appearing to leave him in that same breath. "Nevermind. It is not my place to say."

"Say what?" She blinked.

He shook his head. "Does Legolas know you don't intend to stay?"

She blinked, again. "Uh. Yes? I mean, we've discussed… _around _the issue." She fidgeted slightly. "I sort of thought it was implied."

Aragorn looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. He also looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. "Be sure to make it implicitly clear."

She nodded slowly. "Alright." There was nothing in his expression she could read; he was quite serious about this matter, but other than that she couldn't decipher much else.

But it was clear that whatever he was talking around had to do greatly with Legolas, and whatever he'd been trying to tell her in the forest that day before Boromir went and fucked everything over. Something about… elven customs? She'd been rather distracted since, what with chasing down Merry and Pippin, evacuating Rohan, and readying for battle, but she could vaguely remember the thread of conversation. Elves. Elves and mates, she recalled, her stomach turning itself into knows. Elves, mates, and _eternity. _

The scampering of feet against stone alerted them to another presence on the roof.

A page boy.

"Lord Aragorn!" He gasped. Sakura balked at that. _Lord_? When did that happen? "You're presence is needed at the war hearing."

Aragorn acknowledged this with a nod, turning back to Sakura. "Stay safe." He implored.

She nodded, just as serious. "Will do."

.

.

.

She'd spent the better part of the battle's eve attending to the women and children. She couldn't exactly teach them how to fight, but she could at least hand them some sharp objects and explain how to hold them without gouging out an eye. She also went over some brief contingency plans; the caves below Helm's Deep scattered into passageways beneath the mountains, most of which were largely unexplored or dead ends. But, if the stronghold above was taken, it'd be there best bet for survival. Hopefully Sakura would be able to use her chakra to sense openings in the rock, and clear out a few passageways.

If not…

She shook her head.

Then she'd fight her way out, she supposed.

But for now, she had another priority before the battle began in earnest.

The night had long since besieged the sky, leaving a cold and sticky humidity in its wake. The clouds obscured the sparkling trail of stars; a thick, heady purple smoke.

Aragorn exited the impromptu battle planning session, feeling exhausted but infinitely more determined.

This would be no easy task, that was for sure. But as difficult as it may be, it was also imperative for them to come out the victors. More than just the fate of Rohan rested in the outcome. He felt as if, perhaps, he should feel less certain, staring down the eye of the storm. He did not. Maybe leadership really was in his blood. The Evenstar hung mournfully heavy against his chest, but he could not think of anyone else better suited to lead these men into battle than he. Aragorn had spent a long time running from his destiny; but now that he had accepted it, he found the weight… rather fitting. Like a garment he had worn for so long that the leather melded into his shoulders.

Legolas had been, predictably, a tumultuous presence by his side. The elf stayed quiet for the majority of the meeting, even as his fellow elves bellowed their protest to many of the men's strategies. He would have expected his elven friend to jump into the fray and keep the peace, diplomatically sorting out the difference in opinion. Legolas probably had more concerning problems on his mind than stopping a petty fight between men and elves; like perhaps the woman who carried his child, who came from a land so foreign it was very likely they'd never see her again after this whole affair ended.

Aragorn digressed.

He'd attempted to explain the matter; but he found the words would not leave his mouth. It did not seem his place to say—and yet, if not him, then who? It was quite clear Legolas had about as much intention of telling Sakura about elven customs as Sakura had of telling him about her pregnancy. Which was to say, none at all unless backed into a corner. Aragorn snorted. He would have balked at the thought, but he found his good humor had fled in the wake of the battle, leaving nothing but exasperation and resignation in its place.

He couldn't help but imagine what this could have been, had the circumstances been different. Had there not been a violent fight for the freedom of Middle Earth, had Sakura not been from a distant land. Sakura would not know it, but the birth of elven children were a rare and highly celebrated event. In fact, Aragorn could not remember one in his lifetime. With a race with as much longevity as the elves, it wasn't all that surprising that there were so few of them. It was not for lack of trying; the elves were aware of their dying race, their dwindling numbers, but there was nothing to do about it, aside from attempt to bend the will of nature.

And yet here was Sakura, unknowingly walking into all of this and doing what the elven race had tried to do for decades. Creating new life. An elf prince's child, no less. Aragorn really did laugh aloud at that—though it was humorless and devoid of any vitality. If only she knew how celebrated this would be for the elves of Mirkwood—all the song and dance and rejoicing.

And probably not just Mirkwood, but all the elven reams. He remembered Lord Elrond retelling the tale of Arwen's birth; a long celebration by all the elves of Middle Earth—_too _long if you asked the elven king, who had never been fond of undue attention and great scrutiny.

The thought had him looking towards the elves of Lothlorien, a regal brigade at the edge of the keep. Their cloaks shimmered like gossamer light, their weapons made of finely polished wood and metal—everything so pristine in comparison to the dirt-caked men of Rohan ambling about. They stood out like a sore thumb, whether intentional or not. He was surprised Gimli had yet to make a comment on that.

Movement in the corner of his eye drew his attention.

It was—he blinked. And then blinked again.

Sakura?

And Haldir?

The rose-haired ninja was leaning against a wall, arms crossed in front of her, looking strangely imposing considering her short stature.

The elven general had his hood up, though it was easy enough for Aragorn to tell him apart in the crowd.

They appeared to be in serious conversation, for Sakura's brows knit worryingly, and her mouth had set decidedly into a frown.

Aragorn's curiosity—and trepidation—grew. What could they possibly need to discuss?

Meanwhile, Sakura felt she was going in circles.

"But there have to be some things you share with the other elven realms." She insisted.

"Some, perhaps." He agreed, enigmatic. "But I do not see the need for these questions."

"—Curiosity?" Sakura threw out, quickly. "Uh, interest? I can't just be interested?"

Haldir's eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something."

_Yes. _She agreed silently. _An elf baby. Also, a maybe-relationship with the elf-baby's father. _

She appraised the elf in front of her searchingly, wondering if she could possibly get the answers out of him anyway. She didn't know any other elf aside from him who she could ask—hell, and she didn't even know him. Well, she knew his _name _but other than that, not very much.

"If you're expecting to hear an entire history of elven culture—I'm afraid I cannot give it to you." He sighed. "Not in any legitimate regard; and certainly not in the hours before battle. It would take… months to fully explain."

Sakura let out a breath. Yeah, she'd expected as much, but the inspiration had struck her and she wanted to at least take the opportunity while she had the chance. When was the next time she'd run into any elves? It was practically a stroke of luck that they marched their way into Helm's Deep. And she didn't know who else would know more about elven culture than, well, the elves themselves. And considering the only elf she knew had so far avoided the subject like the plague, and Aragorn was just as unforthcoming, this may be her only chance.

The thought made her desperate.

"Mates." Spilled out of her mouth before she could think better of it. "What can you tell me about elven mates?"

Shock colored his features; his brows rose and his mouth opened in surprise. It was the most expression she'd ever seen on an elf. Well, aside from that one time she told Legolas about his surprise baby—but that was not something she wanted to think on right now.

"Why do you want to know?" He returned, his voice high.

She narrowed her eyes at the blatant evasion.

When it became clear that she was not going to answer his question, he pursed his lips. "They are a rare thing indeed. Elves only mate once, and once they do it is eternal. Mating is… sacred. And precious. An elf will find no one better suited than their mate." He searched her face. "Why is it that you ask such questions? It is more than curiosity."

"Maybe." She shrugged, giving nothing away. And then, somewhat icily, "But I don't see how that's any of your business."

If possible, his brows raised further. "You accosted me—" Wow, that was a _total _exaggeration, "And then demanded answers of me of which I did not need to give. Did you expect me not to wonder?"

She had expected as much. But she also knew that it was entirely up to her discretion whether she'd give him any answers.

"Wonder all you like." She returned, stiffly. And then much less hostile, "Anyway, thanks for actually answering." It was more than she'd hoped. Although, nothing she'd heard gave her any sense of relief.

He blinked rapidly as she moved to leave. "That's it?"

"Oh." She paused, and then, over her shoulder, "Good luck."

Before she jumped into the sky, far too high for him to follow.

She landed gracefully some ways above, the wind violent this high up, whipping her hair into her face. A sinking feeling had seized her stomach; she sort of felt nauseous. Mostly though, she felt numb. Aragorn had alluded to something similar, and from his words she'd gotten an inkling on what this entire ordeal must seem like to Legolas—but not like this.

Hell, she could barely even remember that night all those months ago. She'd sort of hoped foolishly that they were the outlier, they were 'seldom' in Aragorn's explanation. But everything was point to the other direction. Elves were seldom intimate out side of their matings… and they only mated once, forever. It wasn't like in Konoha, where practically every lawyer specialized in annulments—and someone was always sleeping with someone else. She'd thought Naruto and Neji would be the ones to get culture shock; clearly she was very, very wrong.

Sakura felt a bit slow, having taken this long to come to a rather obvious conclusion.

_She_ was his mate.

Forever.

.

.

.

It was inevitable she and Legolas would meet again.

Around them, men and even young boys geared up in tedious, chain-mail armor. She never understood how any of them got any kind of fighting done in all that bulky metal. It was a different kind of fighting, she supposed. Or maybe no one here knew how to dodge. She shook her head; that wasn't true. She'd seen Aragorn and Legolas take down plenty of orcs without any kind of armor, with nothing but their reflexes to protect them from the strike of a blade.

She didn't know what to say to him, was the thing. It felt as if they'd already said all they had to say.

It also wasn't particularly comforting for her, but she suspected that the elf felt the opposite. He smiled softly at her, weaving his way across the room to stand at her side. He didn't say anything at first, content to sit in this small bubble of quiet around them, entirely at peace with her by his side.

Mate. Was all she could think. She was his mate.

And yet, she didn't know how she _felt _about him. She couldn't even contemplate staying in Middle Earth after this tour—how in the hell was she supposed to make up her mind about _forever_?

Legolas turned to her, something endless in his eyes. She wanted to—to kick him. For being so perfect. Or maybe kick herself, for not being able to give him want he wanted.

For a brief, scintillating moment she could imagine it with great clarity: she could imagine herself as an Eowyn, as someone who grew up in this vast, wild world. How easy it would be, then, to give up everything and live in the glimmering caves and trees of Mirkwood. It wouldn't be so bad, the world of the elves was so wondrous and beautiful, and Legolas was nothing if not a splendid companion. It wasn't as if they didn't get along; he was peaceful, and calm, and jovial—in that regard, they complimented each other very well. She was moody and often times mean-spirited, and he was the antithesis. He could make her laugh when all she wanted to do was bitch.

But the dream crumbled away as quickly as it had come, leaving her cold and indifferent.

She was no Eowyn. She was no fair-maiden in need of a prince. She'd never been called anything close to 'fair', or referred to as anything approaching 'maiden'—and she'd been a girl who wanted a prince, once.

It hadn't ended well.

She looked at Legolas, whose attention had drifted towards the proceedings around them. He was engaged in a conversation about daggers with one of the Rohirrim men. Or maybe about how best to use daggers against orcs. She wasn't paying much attention—no, she was too caught up in imagining what he'd think of her, if he actually knew who she was.

When they'd met in Mirkwood, her job had only been to assist—and now, months later, it was still just that; assistance. Ninja were secretive even amongst their own, and in company more foreign than she'd ever been in before it was only natural to follow protocol and use as little of their hidden techniques as possible. Of course, Naruto went and blew that out of the water, what with exploding a hole in the king's palace and all that. The fact remained though, that the less she showed her hand the better. She doubted Neji was showing any of his clan techniques here, or any technique, period.

But had she not been just assisting, had she not been so secretive; she wondered what he would think. She was a killer, and not just of orcs. She probably knew more ways to kill someone with her bare hands than he did—knew how to even _without _them.

Certainly there was death and violence in Middle Earth, that much was clear. But never voluntarily. This was a battle waged for survival—not because the Daimyo paid a lump sum of money for it. They killed here to protect their own; not because someone vetted out more cash than someone else. It was practically sport, back home. They threw pre-adolescent kids into a stadium and had them duke it out until forfeit, unconsciousness or death on a regular basis. Most people generally rooted for death.

Almost involuntarily did her hand stray to her stomach, once more flattened by Genjutsu, covered under layers of cloth and cloak. Her resolve to leave the baby here strengthened. Legolas would take excellent care of it.

It would learn how to kill here too—but, perhaps here it wouldn't learn to enjoy it.

"Sakura," Legolas tugged lightly at her arm. The man he had been conversing with was gone; for how long, she didn't know. "Are you alright?"

She stirred, blinking rapidly and returning her attention out of her thoughts. "Um? Fine. Sorry. I was just lost in thought."

"Are you sure?" He pressed, concerned. "You look a bit… pale."

"_You _look pale." She countered; and it was true. Well, paler than usual. Mostly he looked worried. Anxious, and worried. "Nervous?"

He smiled slightly at that. "I would be a fool not to be." He pointed out, dry.

True. The odds were certainly not turned in their favor. "It'll be fine." She found herself saying, with the utmost of confidence. She didn't know why she was so unwavering in this belief, but it felt truly unshakable, as if she truly believed everything would turn out fine. Was this how Naruto felt all the time? No wonder he was always doing stupid shit.

"If only I could share your conviction." He smiled, ruefully.

Though it still felt strange, she slipped her hand into his. The small amount of comfort appeared to work, for he squeezed back. Just holding his hand made her feel irrevocably guilty.

"Try not to die." She found herself saying.

He looked at her strangely, before erupting into laughter.

"Yes." He agreed. "I will try my best."

.

.

.

The ground shook violently, but this far under the ground the energy from the above had descended into distant tremors. Though she could hear the battle going on above loud and clear, she doubted anyone else in the cavern could; not without some enhanced hearing, at any rate.

A part of her—or a lot of her, really—wanted to rise to the surface and check the battle for herself. They'd sent a few women to briefly peek already, and each came back with varying degrees of bad news.

There were more Uruk-hai than they had initially thought; they'd broken through the gate; it was starting to rain. Everything bad that could happen appeared to be happening.

Sakura shook her head, and concentrated on the little girl in front of her, bleeding profusely from a gash in her side.

She'd managed to mend most of it up, but the girl kept squirming around, making it infinitely more difficult to heal a wound that should have only taken a couple minutes.

"Could you get her to stay still?" Sakura whispered lowly to Eowyn, who was soothing the child as she held her arms.

Eowyn gave her a look of exasperation. "I'm trying." She said by explanation. It was clear, however, that neither she nor Eowyn were particularly paying attention to the matter at hand. No, most of their concerns were centered on the battle above.

The ground shook again. The girl in her arms whimpered.

"Are we going to die?" She whispered.

"Shh," Fortunately Eowyn shushed her before Sakura had to come up with a response that wasn't; '…maybe?'.

The two shared a look again over the little girl; it was fairly obvious they were thinking the same things.

Eowyn was… really refreshing, Sakura thought sort of distractedly. The blonde woman leaned back down to rub the girl's hair out of her eyes. She was the only woman in Middle Earth that Sakura had met who had some real fight to her. She wondered if it was just a cultural thing around here; it was like they were all kind of the same. And it was sort of sexist, y'know? Why was it that the women were hiding out down here instead of fighting? If this was Konoha, or hell, _any _hidden village they'd never be foolish enough to hide away half of their fighting force.

It was different here, Sakura reminded herself.

No shit.

No one mated for life back home. No one thought women weren't capable of defending themselves and their country back home.

She was abruptly besieged with the intense desire for her homeland. Suddenly it was all she could think about; her apartment, the hospital, her friends. She'd never been so homesick before, and she'd been on missions three times as long as this.

But then, she'd never been so far away from Konoha—had never been in the most foreign of lands, where there was not one similarity she could find aside from the stars that lit the sky.

"Sakura," Eowyn whispered, urgently.

Sakura shook off her reverie, focusing on the flaxen-haired woman in front of her once more. Eowyn reminded her of home, a bit. She had a will of fire; that was for sure, she kind of reminded her of someone, but Sakura couldn't—she was also saying something to her. Oh.

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"Do you hear that?" Her eyes moved to the ceiling.

Sakura paused.

There was a faint rumble, echoing down into the caves with slight tremors. That in and of itself wasn't all that strange—louder, perhaps, but not strange considering that there had been quite a few attacks strong enough to be felt beneath the ground.

No, it wasn't the sound that had caught Sakura's attention—

But the smell.

She sniffed the air, wondering at the familiarity. The cave smelled of moist dirt and rock, weighed down with the potent humidity. There was something more, though. Something underneath that.

"Hold on." She returned, and walked swiftly to the cave entrance.

The air was colder here, biting, and smelling of tangy ozone, like storms. The smell struck her heart with something like nostalgia, even though she couldn't place where in her memories it came from. But… it made her think of sadness. A gripping, sorrowful regret. Of a figure silhouetted by a burning sky, of a dark night and her heart breaking on the pavement, of a red bridge that had long since burned down, and the fragments of her youth.

"Sasuke." She breathed.

"Sakura?" Eowyn called, hesitant. She'd left the little girl in the attentive hands of her mother, the wound healed as if it'd never even been there.

The ninja did not respond. Instead, she moved farther, into the mountainous, dark jaws of the entrance.

"_Sakura!_" She yelled again, when it became clear the woman was not stopping. She didn't know why Sakura was down here with them, but Aragorn had relayed the importance of her safety to Eowyn, and she did not take such a task lightly.

Finally, the petal-haired girl turned around. There was something striking to her eyes; something determined. "I'll be back!" She called over her shoulder—and then she raced off into the abyss.

The climb back to the surface was steep, and most likely grueling for anyone that wasn't a ninja. Sakura jumped her way up the walls, her heart beating so fast it seemed like it could almost break through her ribcage.

She came up to the surface like a man out of the sea, gasping for breath.

Rain.

It was storming out here. The shouts of men and Uruk-hai were loud in the air; the whistle of arrows, the thunderous strikes of the catapults as they buffeted the walls of the stronghold. It was war out here, but in the darkened sky was an even greater war. Electricity stewed tempestuously above the battle—the clouds had begun to stir themselves in a familiar pattern.

Sakura looked to the battle in time to see _Kirin_ light up the sky.

The effects were blinding: an eruption of burning light; and all the breath was pulled out of her in one fell swoop. The roar of thunder as it lashed upon the ground was deafening, the eruption of the splintered earth even more so. It didn't stop. The lightning rained upon the ground until the entire world burned in its wake.

She could have choked on her own laughter.

The thunder god was here. It never ceased to amaze her that Sasuke's most dangerous technique was also the one that required the least amount of chakra.

She'd only seen _Kirin _once, and she had been on the wrong side of that battle. She'd since learned—returning terrified and somewhat shell-shocked—to her infinite relief that Sasuke could only release the god of thunder in the right weather conditions. The perfect storm, she thought, marveling. This was undoubtedly the perfect storm—the absolute perfect conditions for it. The rain had been stewing for days now, the clouds drooping and heavy, electricity potent and brewing. And Middle Earth, particularly this part of it, sprawled to the four corners of the earth in rolling flatlands; there was no cover to hide from the strikes.

She laughed again, breathlessly, as not even seconds later did the enormous Planetary Rasengan light up the sky, orbited by a triad of smaller ones, taking all the air with it. The gathering in Naruto's hand pulled her hair as it swept up all the wind around her, the resulting blast against the ground was not as bright as Kirin, but equally as dangerous.

She'd known he was back.

But there was one thing to know that, in the abstract, Sasuke had returned home and was somewhere in Konoha. It was another to see him drop from the sky, landing side by side with Naruto on the dilapidated wall of Helm's Deep.

She laughed so hard she cried.

.

.

.

And then she punched Sasuke in the face the moment she was in range.

Immediately after she grabbed him by the neck and suffocated him with her arms—in happiness though, not anger. It must have been hard to tell though, because she still looked furious as hell, and her grip was almost lethal.

"Sa…kura." He choked, futilely trying to wrench away. "You're choking me."

She let go, just as violent as she had seized him.

"You're an asshole." She intoned flatly, unaware, or perhaps uncaring of the audience that had gathered to watch them.

He didn't have any response to that.

"Hey," Naruto whined. "Come on—he came back, didn't he? That has to count for something!"

"Shut up, Naruto." They said, in unison.

She made a face of disgust at that. God how were they real.

It didn't escape her notice that they had not only gathered a crowd, but that the crowd appeared to be effectively intimidated by just the sight of the Uchiha. Sakura didn't blame them; they probably thought _him _the god of thunder after that outrageous display.

"Well," She said with a snort, folding her arms. "I suppose Naruto's right. And it's better to be on this side of Kirin then the other." Her eyes trailed down to the scene before them, the scorched earth and the jagged remains of the rock face from where the lightning had scarred it irrevocably. She could tell where the The fortunate Uruk-hai turned to cinders. The unfortunate ones were either electrocuted or burned in the resulting fire. Yeah. Definitely better.

"See?" Naruto grinned cheekily, loping his arms around the both of them. "So, we're all good?"

"I guess." She muttered, eying Sasuke warily. He was conveniently not meeting her eyes.

She couldn't stop the pleased little flutter in her chest, though. It was incredibly relieving to be together with Team Seven again, one of Naruto's arms thrown around her, Sasuke so close she could still smell the scent of storms on his skin.

.

.

.

Aragorn looked upon the scene with a curious, open face. Around him, the men of Rohan whispered ominously; a shifting sea of unease as they all looked upon the man who wrenched the sky apart with his bare hands. He—he had never seen anything like that. As if the god's themselves existed in the boy's hands, the lightning moving with his every command and the thunder rolling in his wake.

That wasn't even remarking upon Naruto. But that was different, he'd met the blonde beforehand, knew enough about him now to make some sense of him. It had still been alarming to see the blonde enveloped in an otherworldly orange glow, something unnatural and demonic overtaking him. Alarming, and terrifying—and that was even knowing the blonde personally.

Yes, Aragorn understood their apprehension, their wonder, and their unease.

Seeing the three of them up on the wall, the aftermath of the battle burned into the earth behind him: he then understood Sakura with a sudden clarity.

She'd remarked once that the shared the same north star—it was quickly becoming obvious that the sky may be the _only _thing they shared.

* * *

_I think someone already suggested this but... :0 TWINS SEPARATED AT BIRTH. Omg. _

_If you want to see what sakura looks like, there are links to it on my profile page (its also the cover art of this) _


	13. soundgirl personal

_Yay UPDATE AND A NEW COVER PHOTO! I felt like drawing Sakura a lot this month.. anyway all the links are up on my profile! This is unbeta'd and briefly looked through - sprinkles for everyone who finds my heinous mistakes. _

* * *

Sasuke hummed pensively.

"So that's why she wasn't fighting?"

Aragorn turned to the foreign man, attempting to read his expression. He could not tell much from it, though.

"Yes." He said, simply. What else was there to say?

He made another pensive noise, turning his attention towards his fellow ninja talking quietly under the eaves of a large oak tree. The Fellowship had embarked from Helm's Deep after the battle was over to make for Isengard—Aragorn had said something about 'hobbits' being taken to this strange place. He snorted. Everything here was strange.

Stranger still was Naruto's unnaturally austere expression.

Sakura rubbed her temples, chancing another weary glance at her companion. She'd commandeered him not too long after the fellowship had embarked for Isengard, intent on finally clearing the air. Suffice to say, it was not going exactly how she'd expected. Granted, she hadn't known how the blonde would react in the first place.

"Oh." He said, and then, after some length of time, "_Oh._"

And he hadn't said anything else since.

"That's all your going to say?" Sakura asked into the air, when it became clear her blonde companion was not going to say anything further.

Conflicted emotions drifted over the blonde's face. "I mean… Sakura…" He shook his head with a forlorn expression. "You're okay, right?"

She blinked, taken aback. "I'm fine?" Why would she not be? What was that supposed to mean?

The blonde didn't elaborate. He looked speculative. "You don't look okay." He noted.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Sakura scowled, and self-consciously smoothed a hand down her hair. "_Thanks_."

"No, not like that!" Naruto backtracked hastily. "I just mean—are you happy?"

She blinked again. Now there was a question she had no idea how to answer. What was she supposed to say? Yes? No? I've been a little too busy to meditate on my feelings lately? She settled on neutrality. "Naruto," She hesitated. "That's not… That's not really relevant right now."

"Isn't it, though?" He pressed. "It's not like you to… be so irresponsible? I mean, none of this is like you, Sakura!"

And didn't she know it.

Sakura sighed. She had completely forgotten about Naruto's incorrigible and uncanny ability to be incredibly perceptive at times.

"Why'd you go on this mission, Sakura-chan?" He asked, an unnaturally serious look to him.

She shrugged. "I—what does it matter?"

Naruto shook his head. "Sakura-chan—

She cut him off. "Can we discuss this later? We've been holding up the Fellowship for almost half an hour now."

Naruto turned his attention towards the party waiting for them across the ravine. That was a fair assessment, he supposed, though he knew Sakura was only pointing that out to avoid this conversation. Also rather unlike her. He scratched his cheek, before deciding that, if she was already so defensive about it, it'd probably be best to let it rest.

"Yeah." He agreed. "We should probably get back."

She pivoted smartly on one foot, and started the trek towards their party without him. Naruto followed her at a more sedate pace, thinking everything over as he watched her navigate down the hill. She didn't look any different—but that probably had more to do with a Genjutsu than any significant health changes. He caught her profile in the waning sunlight; something like impassivity holding her expression. Now rarely was Naruto considered anything approaching observant, but he could be strangely insightful when it came to reading other people. Hell, it was probably his most defining talent, no matter what the other five nations said otherwise. He doubted he'd ever have come this far had he not been so good at understanding other people and their motivations.

And Sakura, well… he'd known her a long time. Like Sasuke, sometimes it was difficult to appraise her with a detached neutrality. It didn't help that he'd carried a torch for her for such a long time—that kind of shit blinded you.

But he could see her clearer now, and into all she tried to hide.

He had to admit, she was pretty good at it. If he hadn't known her as long as he did, he'd never know what she was thinking. And right now, she was… tense. Uncomfortable. He hadn't seen her this uneasy in a great many years—and it wasn't an apprehension from being stuck in a foreign land, no. They'd been on too many of these kinds of missions for her to be so unnerved by them.

It was the pregnancy, then.

He absentmindedly drew a hand to his shoulder, rubbing the muscle there as he watched her progress to the fellowship—and then past them without a word.

He supposed that made a lot of sense.

The trek to Isengard was relatively quiet; the tension between them was palpable, and Sakura keeping her staunch silence was most definitely not helping. Gandalf was a well enough conversationalist, and he'd pulled Gimli into an argument on Dwarven literature some time ago, so that at least served as running back chatter. Legolas looked as pensive as Sakura.

Sasuke was by his side, looking incredibly put upon by the horse beneath him. Though to be honest, he'd looked put upon ever since Tsunade had practically back handed him out of the village.

Naruto would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the other boy's companionship on the mission—it'd been a long time indeed since the two of them had actually been on the same team. Hell, or even the same side of the war. In a lot of ways he didn't recognize the boy by his side anymore; in a lot of ways, he also hadn't changed at all. Right now he was still watching their other teammate with a strangely clerical eye—wait. Naruto blinked.

"How did you find out?" He balked.

Sasuke turned to him, flat. "Aragorn told me."

"Seriously?" Naruto harrumphed. Was he the only one who hadn't known? Well, perhaps not. He didn't think Gimli did. But hell if he'd be compared to a dwarf.

"If it makes you feel better, he only told me a few minutes ago." Sasuke returned, dry as a bone.

Naruto scowled. No, it didn't. He maneuvered his horse closer to Sasuke's. Or, he tried anyway. Moving these beasts was a much harder task than he would've expected it to be. "It's not weird to you?"

Sasuke spared him an incredulous glance. "That she's pregnant? No, Naruto. That's a thing that happens to women sometimes. Do I have to explain this to you?"

"Not that!" He hissed, and then lowered his voice when he felt a few eyes turn to him. "It's just—I don't know. I'm really surprised by it."

His look turned curious, but the Uchiha didn't reply.

Naruto blew a raspberry and elaborated, "Well, it just doesn't seem like her, don't you think?"

Sasuke shrugged. "To be honest, Naruto, I don't really know her that well anymore."

Naruto drew back at that. He hadn't thought of it like that. It was true though; it'd been some time since Sasuke and Sakura had spoken. Or had even seen each other—on the same side of the battlefield, that was.

"But it might have something to do with us."

This stirred Naruto out of his thoughts. "Wait, what?" He groused. And then, snorting, "Listen, I'm pretty sure neither of us put that bun in the oven, if you know what I mean."

"Not like that." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I just…" He shifted, and Naruto blinked. Was he uncomfortable? He certainly looked it.

"Naruto," He began, as if on another tangent, "Did you ever wonder what it might feel like to be on the same team as two of the most successful ninja of your generation?"

"No?" Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Why would I do that?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It was hypothetical, moron."

"Oh." He paused. "Well still, no. I guess I'd be kind of bummed? Maybe a little jealous. It depends on who, though. If it was Jiraiya, I'd be mad as fuck. Could you imagine being on that guy's team? I love him, don't get me wrong, may he rest in peace and all that—but _man_, I travelled with him y'know? Not an experience I want to repeat—

"No, Naruto." The Uchiha interrupted, annoyed. "Not anyone in particular. Just—imagine you're the one of three who isn't famous, or _infamous _for that matter; how would you feel?"

"Left out, I guess." Naruto pondered, thoughtful. "And… and useless. I'd hate it. I'd hate knowing I was the weakest."

Sasuke looked smug for some reason.

Naruto scowled at him, cross. "Why does it even matter, bastard—

Then he sat upright, almost startling his horse.

Oh.

_Oh. _

"But wait, what?" He sputtered, and then, lowering his voice, "Sakura's not like that! She's not weak at all! She's the best medic of our generation—actually, considering how old Tsunade-baachan is, probably the best medic _period._"

He waved his arms around, wildly. "Not to mention—who the hell would want to be _us_?"

Sasuke's left eyebrow twitched.

"I mean, look at us!" Naruto continued on, hysterical. "We're terrible human beings! I'm like… shit, I'm probably the dumbest person I know! And you, well hell, you _ran away _to join the homo brigade with Orochimaru—

"I did not." Sasuke cut in hotly. "And there's nothing wrong with being homosexual, you dumbass—

"When you're gay for Orochimaru?" Naruto spoke over him, voice rising. "Yes there is! There is something very, very wrong with that! And not to mention all the other dumb shit you did—not to mention all the other dumb shit _I _did. Sakura's like, the only one of us who actually has her shit together."

Sasuke had to agree on that. While he and Naruto were out being ridiculous—and okay, also becoming the two most powerful ninja in the world—Sakura was actually getting her life together. Hell, Sakura probably knew how to file an I-9. She probably knew the last four digits of her social security number—she probably knew her blood type and all the stuff she was allergic to. She also probably knew where the condiments section was in the grocery store, how to pay her taxes. Sasuke, as he had found out when he arrived home, knew none of that. And as it were, neither did Naruto, who did not have the excuse of being gone for more than half a decade, but was still equally as inept at life as he was.

"We're failures of the human race." Sasuke nodded, only somewhat sarcastic.

"My point exactly!" Naruto agreed. "And how can she think she's weak? Like, three missions ago she accidentally punched me in the face and broke part of my jaw, my nose, possibly my collarbone, and also threw me straight threw a boulder! On accident!"

"Can I mention the time she broke my back?" Sasuke replied, sardonic. "Which one of those do you think hurt more?"

"Mine!" Naruto retorted, mutinous. "Anyway, you probably deserved it, fucking gallivanting off with Akatsuki or whatever."

He shrugged. Fair enough.

"You're sort of missing my point, Naruto." He noted, deadpan.

"Which is?"

"This is probably some warped psychological issue that's been around for ages. We live in a society that despises weakness and praises the strong. In her eyes, being pregnant is a weakness. Which it is."

"But only temporarily!" Naruto replied. "And she knows that!"

Sasuke nodded. "Logically, yes. But something tells me this wasn't a rational reaction."

Naruto sighed, pouting. He eyed their teammate some ways ahead.

"I guess you're right." He conceded, though it physically pained him to say it. "I just don't get why she still thinks she needs to prove something." He said, in a small voice.

Sasuke sighed. "Well, people rarely see the best of themselves."

Naruto smiled slightly, tossing the dark-haired boy an amused glance. "Those mandatory therapy sessions are paying off, aren't they?"

"Fuck off." Sasuke rolled his eyes, and turned his horse in the other direction. Naruto snorted. Of course the Uchiha already had a handle on riding them.

Naruto laughed at his back. "Yeah—you'll practically have a PhD by the end of it, won't you?"

"Who's getting a PhD?"

Naruto whirled around, to see that Sakura had slowed her pace until she was level with him, shooting him a curious smile.

"Sasuke." He answered immediately. "He's turning on a new leaf, haven't you heard? He's gonna be a psychiatrist. He wants to sit around and diagnose people's mental problems all day."

They both watched with blatant amusement as Sasuke's shoulders tensed, even though the boy refused to rise to the bait.

"Is that so?" Sakura raised a brow. "I don't think Sasuke's in any position to be diagnosing other people's mental problems."

"At least without diagnosing his own, right?" Naruto returned, smirking.

"You can both burn in hell." The Uchiha interrupted, even as he plowed his way to the front of the group, drawing many curious glances.

"Please," Naruto crowed, "I'd take you down with me!"

In response, he threw up the middle finger.

Sakura shook her head. "You guys haven't changed at all—how is that possible?"

Naruto returned his attention to her, grinning outrageously. "I dunno. Well, he's still a bastard—

"And you're still a dumbass." She noted.

"My point exactly!" Naruto agreed, brightening. And then, scratching his head. "Well, that and we were shucked into a room together the moment he got back—more like thrown in really. Everyone said to beat each other up now so that they didn't have to live through our crap anymore."

Sakura laughed. "Who said?"

"Well, mostly it was Kiba." Naruto admitted. "But everyone was in agreement!"

She shook her head in wonder, smiling softly. It warmed his heart to see it; it felt like ages since he'd seen Sakura smile like that. "And how was it?"

"Hm?"

"Y'know, him coming back and stuff."

"A total cluster fuck." Naruto noted, bland. "It still is. That's sort of the reason why we're here—letting the council cool off and all that."

Sakura nodded. She'd suspected as much.

"But now we're all on a mission together!" Naruto grinned. "Isn't it great?"

"It is." She agreed, quiet. It was… really nice. Nostalgic, too. She didn't know how to handle this sudden influx in emotions. When had her life gotten so theatrical? If it wasn't baby drama, it was best friend drama. She shook her head. How the hell was 'saving the world drama' not on the top of that list? She really needed to sort out her priorities.

.

.

.

It's not like he was intentionally eavesdropping—it was incredibly hard not to give the trio your entire attention, not when they seemed to resonate a foreign energy, this palpable force that lingered in the air around them; even less so, considering how loud Naruto could be. For a warrior of stealth and shadow he was incredibly… not stealthy.

He'd mentioned that to Sakura in a brief moment when the two had found themselves traveling next to each other, and she barked out a sudden surprise of laughter.

"Yeah, well, y'see—there's different kinds of ninja, that's for sure." She smiled slightly. "The kind you're describing now is more like Sasuke; he's the archetypical shinobi. Very quiet, and observant." She shrugged, and then added, "Could probably kill you in his sleep in like fifty different ways." Like that wasn't mildly alarming.

"Meanwhile, there's also ninja like Naruto—although to be honest, Naruto is really one of a kind—he's not so great on the stealthy part, but he's a good fighter."

Legolas could attest to that. The battle of Helm's Deep was probably infinitely more terrifying from the opposition's view, what with vicious strikes of nature raining upon them, as if the gods themselves had opened up the sky. He wondered fervently what kind of ninja Sakura was. Did she know fifty ways to kill him in her sleep? Probably. Could she open the sky like that? Even though this was the longest stretch of time he'd spent with her, it seemed as if he still knew nothing at all of her. He knew she could mend organs in the blink of an eye—that Aragorn had arrived for battle with more spirit than he'd seen of his friend in a long time, even though he'd fallen off a cliff and dragged himself not but a few scant hours prior, all because Sakura had healed him.

"He is," Legolas agreed, after some time. "But perhaps it is his valor which makes him so great a character."

Sakura looked at him, her mouth pursed thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She noted. "That is what sets him apart." And Legolas didn't even know the half of it.

The forest around them was cloying and dark; whatever light could find its way between the branches speckled the ground in soft, drifting patterns. Shifting light caught against the side of Sakura's face, illuminating the bright sea glass of her eyes.

He wanted to know what it was like, what _she _was like.

"_Holy shit_!"

They both turned around to see Naruto shooting off his horse, brandishing at least three swords Legolas hadn't even seen on his person.

"What the hell is that?"

"Talking trees." Sasuke noted from some ways behind her, sounding resigned. "I should have known."

"Yeah, welcome to Middle Earth." Sakura threw a smirk over her shoulder—which was really quite vindictive of her, considering she was under the same impression the first time she'd seen them.

The large tree inclined its head slightly. "Excuse me." It bellowed, before it drew one large trunk leg over the fellowship and crossed above them.

Naruto watched with stilted disbelief as it carried on through the forest.

"What do you think that means?" Aragorn wondered aloud, narrowing his eyes pensively at the distant form of the walking tree.

"The ents are awake." Legolas noted. "All of them."

Gandalf rubbed his beard. "This has not happened for a great many years. Perhaps all in Isengard is not lost."

It wasn't lost.

It was absolutely flooded.

And two incredibly triumphant looking Hobbits lounged against one of the mostly submerged walls, smoking pipes.

"You young rascals!" Gimli hollered. "A merry hunt you've led us on, and now we find you feasting and smoking!"

Pippin grinned, spread his arms wide and said around a mouthful of tobacco, "We are sitting on a field of victory, enjoying a few well-earned comforts." He held up some meat in his hand. "The salted pork is very good!"

Gimli perked up at that. "Salted pork?"

Gandalf shook his head, fondly. "Hobbits."

.

.

.

"Hey."

The elf turned, to see a familiar mop of blonde hair, tanned arms clasped behind his head.

"Naruto." He inclined his head, looking exhausted. "I suppose you were already aware as well, then?"

"Nah." Naruto shook his head. "She didn't even tell me either. Neji did." And then, after a beat. "She's kind of a… personal kind of girl, I guess. There's a lot to her that she doesn't like to say to other people."

"I was under the impression I was a little more than simply another passing person." The elf reasoned, bitterly, turning back to the darkened sky.

"You are." Naruto attempted to placate him. Oh geez. Why was he putting himself in this awkward situation? Talking to his best friend's baby daddy?

It only took one look at Legolas' heart broken, hurt face to remember why. Sakura was kind of being a bitch about this whole pregnancy thing, though granted, it was her right to do so and if she wanted to, and there was little anyone could do to stop her. She most certainly should have told Tsunade and Naruto thought the best option would have been to have travelled to Rivendell and explained the situation to Gandalf there, inform Legolas, and then politely decline the invitation to join the Fellowship.

Though her stubbornness had always gotten in the way of everything.

"She just." Naruto paused, looking to the sky. "It's kind of complicated, you know? When we were younger, things weren't always exactly fair. You see, Sakura was always used to being put against people a lot stronger than her. Even though, as I'm sure you've noticed, Sakura's pretty fuckin' strong, but I mean, boys are stronger than girls. It's natural. And me and Sasuke, had all sorts of things going for us. It was almost in our blood to be ninja, I guess. Our families were all ninja, we had ninja abilities passed on through blood… and Sakura… didn't have any of that."

Naruto gave a little laugh. "But she was determined. To be… just as good as us, I guess. And a lot of the time it was us protecting her, and I think that now she's got this crazy complex where she'd prefer to be anything but weak—to do anything but rely on someone. And in her mind, being pregnant is a weakness. I mean, well it kind of _is_, but not like that. It's circumstantial—but she doesn't get that. To her, there's only one kind of weak and that's when she's dependent on someone else."

The blonde ninja found himself with an enraptured audience at the end of his ramble.

"So yeah." He ended, awkwardly. "It really has nothing to do with you. It's just her weird way of trying to be independent."

Legolas' expression was nothing but stone, but there was a dawning understanding taking over the hurt that had been there before. "And it's common?" He questioned. "For pregnant women to continue to fight?"

"Well, it's not exactly _common_," Naruto stressed. "But it's been done before. Typically by stubborn women, like Sakura. Though, if it's any consolation, there are a lot of Kunoichi techniques that aid women when this kind of stuff happens. So she's a little more protected than you think."

Legolas turned to him.

"Not that she's going anywhere!" Naruto backtracked hastily. "I think we've managed to talk her into sitting this one out and just getting a lot of rest. I mean, I know you're angry—

"Not angry." Legolas shook his head. "Worried. I will admit I was hurt that she hadn't informed me of this sooner—

Naruto opened his mouth, but the elf waved him off.

"But I know that there are more circumstances than I am aware of."

The blonde nodded slowly. "Uh, yeah. I think she's… still awake. If, you know, you guys wanna talk it out or something."

He smiled slightly. "Yes—a wise idea."

Sakura was awake.

She was also absolutely livid.

She threw Pippin onto the ground, and the Hobbit whimpered, looking up at her as if he'd never seen her—or rather, looking at her in an entirely new light. Legolas was too, actually. He'd never seen her show such… visceral emotion. Even when hunting orcs or slaying dragons, she'd never given away her thoughts one way or the other. But her fury was now a tangible presence in the air, rolling off her in waves.

Her dark-haired companion was leaning against the wall, his strange sword in one hand, and a clothed orb in the other.

She looked up as Legolas entered.

"Found him trying to grab that magic eight ball out of Gandalf's hands."

He blinked. "Magic eight ball?"

She made a noise of frustration. "Mystic ball, whatever it is."

"I—I'm sorry!" Pippin yelped.

She looked down at him, cross. "You're lucky I stopped you! Gandalf warned us not to touch it!"

"That I did." Agreed the old wizard, solemn. "It is fortunate we have such observant friends to keep astute watch, no?"

Sakura didn't appear all that mollified. She did, however, stop brandishing her sword as well. Her lips pursed themselves into a frown, before she let out a breath.

"Whoa—

Naruto entered the room. "What's with all the killing intent?"

The room looked at him oddly, aside from Sasuke, who appeared to not be listening at all, and Sakura, who sighed. All at once, the frightening atmosphere convulsed upon itself, and dissipated as quickly as it had come.

"Sorry." Sakura muttered, running a wary hand through her hair. She scowled when she realized it had gotten far too long—long enough to snare itself into a giant tangle.

She turned to Legolas. "Were you looking for me?"

"I was." He replied, slow. The atmosphere in the room went from terrifying to uncomfortable in the space of a second, though it had nothing to do with chakra this time. Naruto was pointedly looking in the other direction; Aragorn had once more feigned sleep, Gandalf coughed politely. Sasuke looked unmoved.

Merry looked around, confused. "What?"

But Sakura didn't give Legolas a chance to respond, forcibly tugging him out of the room before the _entire _Fellowship learned of their previous affairs. Aragorn and Gandalf, fine. But she could live without the hobbits ever knowing. The evening was cool and damp, a fine mist wandering around the feet of Edoras.

She dropped his hand, taking a few more steps forward, until she could see the city sprawling below.

She took a breath.

Shit.

No world-ending battle in the forseeable future, no hobbits in need of rescuing—nothing was stopping them from having this conversation. Aside from her nerves, anyway, that threatened to overwhelm her in a wave of violent sickness. Hell. She hadn't gotten sick once during her entire pregnancy, she sure as hell didn't want to now.

"Are you feeling well?" His hand brushed against the side of her arm, exposed to the night air.

Her mouth twisted, and she found herself rooted in place. "I'm fine." She protested weakly. Why was everyone asking her that today?

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" She countered, turning around a bit. Oh. He was… really, _really _close. She had to look up a bit to catch his gaze. There was a thin cut traveling across his left cheek, but other than that she couldn't see any injuries.

She smiled slightly at that. Trust Legolas to get out of a battle like that almost entirely unscathed—he could be a ninja if he had chakra.

"No grievous injuries to report." He returned her smile with a winsome grin.

Ugh. Must he be so beautiful, at all hours of the day?

The smile drifted away as he lifted a hand to her face. "You're paler than usual." He noted, concern a frisson in his voice. "Have you eaten today?"

She wanted to roll her eyes. "Yes." She said instead, exasperation clear. "I'm _fine_."

His eyes searched hers. "But, you will tell me if you're not?"

"Sure." She smiled wanly. "I think I should know for myself, though. I _am _a medic, if you'll recall."

"And a very good one," He agreed. "However, you must understand how remiss it was of you to come here in the first place—being a medic of such esteem." He added, perhaps a bit of bite to his tone.

She scowled, irritated. She knew what she was getting into, alright? Perhaps it was not the best of decisions, but it wasn't as if she'd made it with her eyes closed. She knew it would be hazardous to her health, and she that it would be strenuous. Sure, she hadn't realized it would take _this goddamn long _but she was indubitably aware that missions never went how they were planned, this being no exception.

She just hadn't _cared._

Sakura searched his face.

She still didn't know if she cared, either.

A vast part of her wanted to forget all of this even happened. Perhaps she'd stay in Middle Earth until after the birth—her nose scrunched at that. She didn't want to _know _what archaic childbirth she'd have to go through if she did though—and then leave the child with Legolas. She could return home, to her comforts and all that she loved. It'd be so easy.

He drew her closer, and she let him.

He nosed against her hair, closing his eyes when he inhaled. It smelt like… nothing he'd ever smelled before. He wondered how she managed to keep it so clean and scented—undoubtedly by one of her strange marvels she'd brought with her from her home. She was truly a woman unlike any he'd ever met before, elf, human, or dwarf even. Everything from her light scent, to her clothes, to her way of speaking; he'd never encountered anything like it before.

His hands trailed down her sides, and he felt her soft exhale against him. His fingers flittered across the foreign material of her shirt—smooth like silk but strong and thick like cotton—tracing across the many pouches and scrolls around her hips. The skin beneath was smooth and warm to the touch, soft and flat—

He pulled back a bit, blinking. "How far along are you?"

She looked up, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Four months?" She hedged. Honestly, she hadn't been keeping track all that well. Hell, it felt like an eternity.

He looked down at her incredulously. "Where are you keeping it?" He asked, perplexed. "Your kidneys?"

She barked out a laugh, almost choking. "No, of course not!" With a wave of her hand she dispelled the Genjutsu.

She wasn't sure how to feel with his blatant staring, so she looked down herself. She'd never actually seen herself without the Genjutsu on—and, huh, she wasn't actually showing all that much. She figured she wouldn't, anyway. With a tight shirt, however, it was clear to see that she was, indeed, pregnant.

He stepped forward, almost hesitantly, as if he thought she might run away, or punch him in the face. Neither option was all that appealing.

She didn't, though, simply watched him expressionlessly. His knuckle brushed against the warm skin of her stomach, and he found his breath hitching. They had a baby, he thought, with no small amount of hysteria. There was a baby in there.

Sakura didn't move as he drew his palm to the almost imperceptible bump, just a swell, really, nothing like what he'd expected. It reminded her of all the times they'd unintentionally had a lot of baby and daddy bonding moments. She shrugged. It was fair to give them one in which _one _of them was actually aware it was going on.

She couldn't read the expression in his face—too many passing through his features for her to accurately discern. He leaned down, though, and _that_ she knew how to read.

She opened her mouth against his, warm all the way down to her toes when his hand smoothed across her stomach to settle against her hips, thumbing lightly there.

"Am I interrupting something?" Came a dry, unaffected voice.

Sakura leapt back with a heave of breath. "Neji holy _fuck._" She cursed, scowling. Surprised, and also not surprised at all to see him standing there with a deadpan expression. "Wear a fucking bell, jesus…"

Legolas' hand tightened against her, protectively. He narrowed his eyes at the strange man with unnerving, opalescent eyes, and then turned to Sakura. "Do you know this man?"

"Unfortunately." She replied, still scowling. She would have sensed him coming up, though. So how the hell did he…

And then, rounding on her fellow ninja, "You were totally Henge'd as a bird, weren't you?" And then, smirking. "TenTen was right, you really _are _a total garden pervert—

"In other news—" Neji cut her off with a narrowed look. " I didn't come here to debate the merits of your _sex life_."

Legolas looked somewhat appalled he said it out loud. Sakura was annoyed he made it sound like he think she didn't even have one.

She raised a brow.

"Sauron plans to attack Minas Tirith." The Hyuuga said, without preamble.

Sakura's mouth dropped. The hand holding her tightened.

"He's sending his legions to do it. I don't know how much time we have—but he has seen the power of men when combined beneath one banner, and he plans to destroy the city before its king can unite them."

"Also," He added, sardonic, "He does not yet know of chakra, nor do I think he can sense it, as I have had no trouble spying on him, but do remind your dramatic comrades that ninja are, first and foremost, clandestine operatives? I'd prefer to keep him in the dark."

"I'll relay the message." She sighed. Inwardly, she made a mental note to check the skies and surrounding area for strange birds. Neji, contrary to the popular belief of Konoha at large, was not actually big brother. He just, unfortunately, had the tendency to make a lot of Bunshin and Henge them into birds.

"Is that all?" She added.

Neji nodded, procuring a scroll from his pocket. "These are my reports on Sauron's movements." He explained. "Give them to your comrades. I have expanded upon his plans more in there."

"Yep, will do." She pocketed the scroll, and then, with _way _more delight than necessary, grabbed a shuriken and struck it through his head. Legolas choked next to her.

The Bunshin looked to her, bland, before it disappeared in smoke.

"Sakura!" He admonished. "I thought you said—

"It's…" She waved her hand, trying to remember how she explained it before. "A shadow. That wasn't actually him."

The elf looked pensive.

"It doesn't actually hurt him." She added. "It'll just piss him off."

He looked as if he wanted to ask more, staring curiously at the plume of smoke drifting off with the wind. He didn't, though. Instead, he shook his head. "If what he says is true, this is grave indeed." He sighed. "We must give this to Gandalf at once."


End file.
